It's My Life
by KiyoneKatz
Summary: COMPLETE PostMekanix: Kitty Pryde is approached by Pete Wisdom to help solve a strain of arson cases and strange murders far from home during Spring Break. Chapter 22! It's over!
1. Chapter 1

Originally I had planned on illustrating this as a mini-series. Not that Marvel would pick it up or anything, but the intention was there for me to get better at my own artwork. The story was more or less just sitting around in my head. And I hate loose ends, so this me tying a few up. This is also the first time I've ever written anything comic-verse related, I've stuck to X-Men Evolution up until now. Please be gentle.  
  
Continuity wise... I suppose this takes place after the MekaniX mini-series but before God Loves, Man Kills 2 (X-Treme X-Men #25).  
  
X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was a busy night. All Fridays were. Wall to wall customers, a band on stage playing. The noise level up pretty loud, so much that the only communication was either yelled or motioned.  
  
"What time is it?" The brunette female bartender asked the male one.  
  
"What?!" He yelled back in response.  
  
The girl leaned closer, speaking directly in his ear. "TIME?"  
  
"One fourty three AM." He replied.  
  
"Hey Dylan! Shot of whiskey over here!" Yelled a customer in the seat across from them.  
  
"Gotcha! Kitty, can you take care of the cop down there?" He pointed to the other side. "Janine just went on break."  
  
"Sure thing, boss man." The girl identified as Kitty nodded, heading over to the awaiting customer.  
  
The tavern was known as the Belles of Hell, a long established watering hole for the denizens of the downtown Chicago area. The band was winding down it's last set, usually they do last call around two, but it's exceptionally busy tonight. The band onstage had just gotten a big break from a local record company. It was a long anticipated celebration, the unusual crowd mixed with the regulars made for a busy night all around.  
  
"Please tell me we're closing soon?" A waitress came to the counter with her tray.   
  
"Not likely. We might even push on till three. Sorry, Ally." Kitty started to fill the order.  
  
"At least that's the last song." Ally pointed to the stage. "They're good, but my ears... my poor ears."  
  
"Totally." Kitty put the newly mixed drinks on the tray. "Good luck."  
  
"Right." Ally left.   
  
Kitty leaned back, taking a moment among the chaos. It was the first official day of spring break for her. All that meant was a little downtime from her schoolwork and maybe some full-time hours at the bar. 'That might actually be the reason we're this busy. Ugh.' Kitty rubbed her temples as the band finally stopped. Dylan, the owner of this establishment, turned on the sound system for bar area to keep the music going - though a little quieter than the live band was. She pulled out a washcloth and started to wipe down the wooden bar area.  
  
"Janine is back, do you want to take a break?" Dylan asked her. The dance floor looking quite empty now.  
  
"Just a bathroom break. Thanks, Dylan." Kitty hung the cloth behind the bar, taking a turn and heading off to the bathroom.  
  
It had been a long semester for her. Kitty, also known as Katherine Pryde had already been trying to make a home for herself here for the past year, but things grew complicated a few months back. Someone said the wrong thing to her. She started a fight. She almost got expelled. Somewhere between the good nature of her boss and the Dean of Students, she managed to stay in school, but only if she took mandatory psychological counseling sessions with the school shrink, Maureen Lyszinski. It was only a few weeks back that she's had to fight for her own way of life. Killer robots, exploding labs, angry mobs. The works. Finally all that died down and things were starting to go back to relative normality for the nineteen year old university student.  
  
She washed her hands. She cupped a bit of water, using it to slick a few wild strands of hair back.  
  
"Wild night, huh?" Asked a girl.  
  
"Long night is more like it." Kitty smiled. "Have a good one."   
  
"Thanks."  
  
Kitty stepped back into the hallway, almost bumping into Dylan.   
  
"Oh good, that's where you are." He said.  
  
"That's where I said I'd be... what's up?" Kitty wondered. "I thought we were slowing down?"  
  
"We are, but I have a customer asking for you."  
  
"For me? Who is it, Marco? Felicia? Danny?"  
  
"No one I recognize. He's drinking scotch. Left side of the bar, dark hair. Let me know if he gives you any trouble. He certainly looks it." Dylan nodded.  
  
"Oh please, Dylan. You know full well I can handle myself." Kitty poked Dylan with her index finger.   
  
"Yes, I do. But sometimes, you know, it's fun just kicking people out. It's the end of the night and I'm restless." Dylan smirked.  
  
"Hah. You're incorrigible. Bad, Dylan." Kitty scooted past her boss, over to where he had instructed.  
  
There was a dark haired man sitting at the bar. Back turned, an empty shot glass on the countertop. Kitty approached him, asking politely. "Sir, would you like another drink?"  
  
"If you're offerin'." The man turned around to face her. "My poisin o'choice, Scotch, if you please. And Pryde, don't you ever call me 'sir' again."  
  
The wiff of a certain brand of cigarettes and the british accented voice from her past that sat before her stunned Kitty into complete silence. Frozen with disbelief, her brown eyes locked with his baby blues. His name was Pete Wisdom.  
  
"Oi. Cat got yer tongue? I want me bloody scotch sometime this year." Pete sneered.  
  
The comment snapped her out of her daze, reaching behind her to fetch the bottle of scotch as she poured another shot for him. "... well, Wisdom... I see even dead men get thirsty. Though Chicago is a bit far to go for just a drink."  
  
"Well, I'm certainly not here to chat up the locals." Pete downed the drink. There was a bit of an awkward silence.   
  
"It's been ages. Actually, more like years, Pete. What are you doing here?"  
  
"Hopefully getting a bit sloshed." He held out the empty cup to Kitty.   
  
"You know damn well what I meant. Last I heard you DIED. Last I knew, you wanted nothing to do with me. I can't exactly blame you." Kitty seemed annoyed, but poured him another shot. "You're paying for that one."  
  
"Wouldn't have it any other way, luv." Pete took the shot, placing his glass down. "I need you, Pryde."  
  
"Like you need a hole in the head, huh?" Kitty started to clear off the counter.   
  
Pete lit a cigarette. He scratched the back of his head with his free hand, "Took longer'n expected t' track you down. I heard about the Russian ox. My condolences."  
  
"And you put that oh so eloquently too." She glared at Pete. "You know what? Get out."  
  
"Wot? You can't be serious!" Pete stood. "It wasn't meant t' be offensive."  
  
"You're trying my patience. Look, what the hell do you want? I've got to close up this place, I don't have time to play 'twenty-questions-or-I'm-drunk' with you. For the record? This is not funny." Kitty continued her glare.  
  
"What time y'off?" He took another puff of his cigarette.  
  
"When we close. Whenever that is." Kitty took a look around. The bar seemed a lot less empty than it had been only a few minutes before.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
"No, really?"  
  
"I'm not quite enjoying your snappy sarcasm this time around, Pryde. I came all this way to see you, you might as well have me a listen."  
  
"What if I say no?" Kitty crossed her arms.  
  
"Last call." Announced Dylan, who was near the front of the bar.  
  
"That a trick question? I know where you live." Pete put his cigarette out.  
  
"Is that a threat?" Kitty's voice raised.   
  
Dylan moved over behind the bar next to Kitty. "Is there a problem over here?"  
  
Kitty sighed, she rubbed her eyes. "Yes. Nothing you can do about it, though. Dylan, this is Pete. An... he's uh... a former boyfriend of mine."  
  
Dylan raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?" He seemed stunned. "This is a surprise... I didn't think that... I mean... you seem so..."  
  
"I think the word you're looking for is 'incredibly old', Dylan." Kitty finished wiping down the bar.  
  
"Sod off. You didn't seem to have much of a problem w'it before." Pete slipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out his wallet.  
  
"I was going for English, actually. Not exactly the type I thought you'd go for." He hinted.  
  
"Dylan!" Kitty nudged him. "I don't have a type."  
  
"Sure you don't. Anyways... time to start sweeping. Your friend can stay while I kick everyone out and close up."  
  
"Thanks, mate." Pete took his seat, tossing a few bills onto the counter. "That should take care o'my tab."  
  
"Right." Kitty went to the register, putting the money away and locking it up. She glanced back at Pete. A mixture of anger and relief washed over her. Last she had heard, the man was dead. Absolutely no closure between them, which made the ache worse. She regretted that. Mainly because it was her own fault. She made no motion to stop him when he first left. She made the mistakes that brought the relationship to an end. Things have changed since then, that's for sure. 'What could he want? Why now?' She wondered.   
  
It didn't take long to finish up the closing duties. Kitty fetched her jacket from the back room and clocked out for the night. They left together, Dylan locking the door behind.  
  
"See you later." Dylan waved. "Don't stay out too late, you two."  
  
"Yeah. Right." Kitty rolled her eyes, stuffing her hands in her jackets' pockets.  
  
"Have you gotten taller?" Pete wondered.  
  
"Might've. I haven't noticed." Kitty started to walk slowly.  
  
"Y'look good. Never thought I'd see you all sharp dressed up like so."  
  
"These are my work clothes, Pete."  
  
"Seems to suit you. Better'n the ol' blues and yellows, eh?" Pete pulled out another cigarette.  
  
"Do you mind? We were just in a bar. That's got to be like your third one."   
  
"What can I say? You drive up my stress levels." He was about to light it, then grumbled, putting it back in his pocket. "Let's find a place."  
  
"I know of this twenty four hour cafe. I skipped dinner and it's too late to crash Shan's place. This way." Kitty chose a direction and started to walk faster.  
  
"Shan?" Pete wondered.  
  
"Friend from Xavier's. Before your time." They turned the corner. She pointed to a small cafe-like place, opening the door. "After you."  
  
"Oh great, make me look like the insensitive clod." Pete grabbed the door from behind Kitty, giving her a nudge. "In y'go. I didn't leave too many of m'manners back in England."  
  
Kitty looked back at Pete. She shook her head with a sigh, stepping in and seating herself at a small booth. Pete followed, sitting across from her. She opened up a menu, glancing it over.  
  
"I've got this one." He opened his own menu. "Breakfast. Lovely."  
  
She closed her menu, putting it aside. Kitty watched Pete, a look on her face somewhere between annoyed and contemplative.  
  
"Wot now?" He put the menu down.  
  
"So this is how it's going to be? Like nothing has changed?" Kitty wondered.  
  
"Not likely." Pete replied.  
  
"Then what are you here for?" Kitty crossed her arms.  
  
"The moment of truth." Pete leaned back. "I know y've been missin me old mug. What say we have ourselves a little bit of a road trip?"  
  



	2. Chapter 2

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 2  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"What?" Kitty blinked. "You can't be serious."  
  
"I am." Pete leaned back,   
  
"Newsflash Pete. I have a job. I have school. I have no time to be gallivanting around the globe for one cause or another. I gave that shit up, remember? Selective memory loss from a half hour ago?" She gestured, a bit exaggerated to her outfit.  
  
"I heard through the rumormill that it's Spring Break for you." Pete picked up a glass of water that had just been set down on the table. "So you don't have school, least not for the week."  
  
"Okay, but I do have bills to pay. I can't just abandon my job because a ghost from my past wants me to."  
  
"S'all I am to you, a ghost?"  
  
"Well, you WERE dead. I've already freaked myself out once this year. At least you're really... you. In all your unabridged glory." Kitty's tone of voice was frustrated, almost annoyed.  
  
"Bloody 'ell, Pryde. You know I'm tougher'n that. Just let people think I'm dead. Safer that way."  
  
"So really, you want me to go with you... somewhere... why?" Kitty looked confused.  
  
Pete gestured, holding up his index finger as if to motion 'one'. A waitress approached the table. Pete gave his order of a simple cup of coffee. Kitty did so as well. Folding the menus and putting them back, Pete waited until the woman walked away before he started to speak. "I got a dillema."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
He pulled out a matchbook and started twirling it in his fingers, "'Bout three months ago I got a call from my Aunt. She remembered I was in with some government-hubbubs, whatnot. Her husband was military, American military. Seems my little cousin apparently has all grown up with certain gifts and he was the one who won her over in the divorce. Long story short, he's callin' and accusing who knows what the bloody well else and she's gone missin' stateside."  
  
"Gifts, huh. Mutant runaway I presume?"  
  
"Bingo. He's not too pleased 'bout that. Wants to keep her secret. Family would rather just have her home if he don't want her, in England."  
  
"Have you tried Xavier's? It's like an open door mutant haven nowadays."  
  
"My contacts say she's out west." Pete tapped the matchbook down on the table. A bit impatiently. "You don't think I thought 'bout that first?"  
  
"Okay... then... explain to me, what exactly are you doing here? Camp counselor and runaway expert I'm not."  
  
Pete smiled. "I hadn't gotten that far yet." He pulls out two plane tickets, setting them down on the table. "I need you to play under cover."  
  
"Ooh, again? How about no, but thanks for stopping by?" Kitty glanced down at the plane tickets. "Las Vegas?"  
  
"Last phone call traced her in a city called Henderson, right next door to the gambling capitol. Might be involved in a weird sort of mutant gang or cult."  
  
"I wonder if that's what people thought the X-Men were..." Kitty wondered out loud.  
  
"Ha-ha, very funny. I need you not only to go under-cover, but to also be a driver. I've got a car lined up and ready to go, all we gotta do is--"  
  
"Look, Pete... I appreciate what you're asking me. I'm even flattered that you might have actually came to me because you thought I could possibly be useful on this... mission of yours, but I've still got responsibilities here and now."  
  
"You haven't even listened to a word I've said, 'ave you?" Pete wondered.  
  
"I have." Kitty sighed. She reached over and touched Pete's hand. "We were a great team. Were. I think back and remember and it's like... I'm sixteen ALL over again. But I'm not sixteen anymore. And you really don't need me for this. What, were you in the neighborhood and thought you should liven things up in my life? Like I need this?"  
  
"When'd you get so goddamn selfish?" Pete snapped at her. He shook his hand away from hers.  
  
Kitty frowned, "You're the one who left."  
  
"I'm asking for a bloody favor, not reconciliation."  
  
"Who's asking for reconciliation? It's MY life you're entering into, unannounced! You expect me to just drop everything I've worked for... for your OWN selfish reasons. You have TONS of friends. More than CAPABLE friends. Why me?"  
  
"Y'want the truth?"  
  
"It better not be because you missed me so much. If you did, you wouldn't have let me believe you were dead."  
  
"What would it've mattered to you?"  
  
"It MATTERED. It still matters. God, Pete... I swear..." Kitty looked like she was about to stand up.  
  
"No. It wasn't because I missed you at all. You're an unknown face. You're young and've got more training than any one of those louts I could call contacts, not to mention the all important aspect that you're a mutant. Who knew you'd be workin' in a pub and pretending to be Miss College Student USA?"  
  
"I'm not pretending. This is what I've chosen to do with my life. I was sick of the hurt and pain that went with being a 'superhero', or whatever the hell we were."  
  
"I'm not askin' you to play superhero anymore either, luv." Pete grumbled. He could feel the pain behind her words, and every time he tried to make light of the situation only made it worse. Something he was never good at, defusing her when she was angry. "Look. I wouldn'tve even bothered you if I had any other choices. Time is short, whether I like t'admit it or not, you're my last choice." He picked up one ticket, and moved the other toward her. "Take it. If you show up, fine. If you don't, I'll understand."  
  
"This leaves TOMORROW morning? I mean TODAY. Like... five hours from now." Kitty sighed. Was she actually considering this. "Pete? I don't know..."  
  
"You got time to think it over. Just imagine... the weather out there has to be better than this place." Pete took a drink from his coffee which finally had arrived. "I'm not asking for the world. I'm asking for a week of your time. All expenses paid. Can't get any better'n that."  
  
Kitty looked down at her cup. "...I'll think about it."  
  
"Fantastic." He stood up, finishing the drink. He put a few bills on the table and said. "T'was good seeing you, Kitty."  
  
The expression on her face softened when he used her first name. "Yeah. It was... good seeing you too, Pete."  
  
He did a quick wave and headed out of the cafe. Kitty watched through the window to see him light up a cigarette and walk down the street out of her view.  
  
---  
  
The keys dropped out of her hands and clanged against the computer desk. Kitty sat down in the chair, undoing the laces on her workboots. 'A weeklong trip, huh? Getting to play detective... hang out with my ex...' She shook her head. 'Sounds like a recipe for trouble. I can't help but fold at the look on his face. This is his family. God knows I'd do the same for mine. Dammit... dammit dammit dammit!'  
  
A knock echoed from the door. 'Huh?' Kitty thought. She slipped back on the untied boot, stepping over to the door and opening it with the chain still closed. She looked out, "Yes?"  
  
"It's Shan." said the figure. "Where were you?"  
  
"Shan, oh geez... sorry." Kitty unlocked the door and opened it for her friend, Shan. Otherwise known as Xi'an Coy Mahn, was once codenamed Karma. "The bar closed later than expected, and I ended up going out. I didn't even get anything to eat, I got wrapped up in an argument."  
  
"Argument? You okay?" Shan looked concerned. "I've still got some leftover dinner over at my place. Still hungry?"  
  
"I'm fine. Though actually, food does sound pretty good. I thought you'd be asleep by now." Kitty sat back down, pulling off her boot and loosening the strings on the second one.  
  
"I was up working on a paper."  
  
"... it's spring break, Shan." Kitty couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle.  
  
"I know! It was an easy paper." Shan walked over and put her hands on Kitty's shoulders. "Must have been a rough night, you're tense."  
  
"More than you know." Kitty leaned back in the chair. "Hey, you don't have to put yourself out for me. I can eat out of my fridge for once."  
  
"You'd starve. I've eaten your cooking and it sucks." Shan pushed Kitty forward, "C'mon, slip out of your work clothes and get your butt over to my place."  
  
"Okay, fine. Don't be pushy." Kitty stood up and stretched. "I've got to stop by Dylan's real quick. I'll be over in a few, okay?"  
  
"Alright. Hurry though, it is getting late." Shan waved, heading out of the apartment.  
  
'I know.' Kitty thought. 'Making this decision harder than it should be, that's what.' Kitty stepped into her bedroom, slipping out of her work clothes and into a loose pair of jeans and tee-shirt. She pulled on some sandles and grabbed her keys, locking her door and stepping into the hall. She headed downstairs to a door labeled 'Manager'. She knocked softly, the light still on inside.  
  
"Who's there?"  
  
"Dylan, it's Kitty. I need to talk."  
  
"What's wrong?" Dylan answered the door. He was dressed far more casually, a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt. "Come in."  
  
Kitty nodded, heading into Dylan's apartment. It was just luck that her apartment manager just also happened to be her boss at work. She took a seat on a plush couch. "Crazy night, huh?"  
  
"We're alive, that's all that matters." Dylan smiled, closing the door and joining her on the couch. "What's on your mind?"  
  
"Remember that guy from tonight?"  
  
"The mysterious ex-boyfriend."  
  
"Right. Well, he asked me a favor. A big favor. It concerns you as much as it does me." Kitty sighed. "And I don't even know why I'm asking."  
  
"C'mon girl, just spit it out." Dylan nudged.  
  
"He asked me to take the week off, go with him to Vegas. He needs help with some business down there. And I feel like such an idiot for even considering this. Why am I even asking? You need me at the bar, right? It's Spring Break." Kitty seemed like she was talking herself out of it.  
  
"Whoa, slow down. Kitty, we've got plenty of help. In fact, the schedules are easier to mix around because college kids are on spring break." He put a hand on her shoulder, "Is it important?"  
  
"... as much as I'd hate to admit it, I think it just might be. Dammit. It's either get a good solid week of work in that might give me a good financial buffer... or go do something that I might regret not doing. Well, I'd regret not making that money, but the other one is a little more selfless." Kitty grumbled.  
  
"Go then. You've got my blessing. I can overwork you when you get back if you really need the cash."  
  
"You know you could tell me 'No, you have to work!' and I'd be okay with that too, right?" Kitty half-smiled, attempting to give Dylan the hint.  
  
"I'd be lying. And I'm also somewhat of a nice-guy. Comes with the territory." He leaned back. "So... how soon would you leave?"  
  
"Like... four hours from now. I've got a plane ticket with my name on it in my jacket pocket upstairs. I don't believe this." She leaned forward, rubbing eyes in mild disbelief.  
  
"What was he to you?" Dylan wondered out loud.  
  
"Huh?" Kitty blinked at the suddeness.  
  
"The guy. Your ex. Was he just some guy you dated, or was it something more?"  
  
"Kinda a personal question, don't you think?"  
  
"You were never one to open up."  
  
"No, I suppose I'm not." Kitty contemplated. "He was... one of the factors of me leaving my former life. I was under a false impression... about what had happened to him. I dated him when I was clearly not old enough to have the mature relationship that we had with each other. And I broke his heart. Me being the bad guy, in that case, haunted me a little more than I thought it should. Accept, move on, and learn from those mistakes. At least now I get closure."  
  
"Is closure all you want? Are you doing this because you felt guilty about how things wound up?"  
  
"Nothing like that. The favor he's asked has nothing to do with 'us'. I just happen to have to interact with him, and work with him, and be around him. No, Dylan. I'm doing this because he does need my unique help. At least, so he claims." Kitty shook her head with a sigh.  
  
"Then you've made a good choice. Bring me back something cool, huh? Like a poker chip." He smiled.  
  
"I'll try my best. I am still underage." Kitty stood and started for the door. "Gotta head upstairs to get packed and eat. Oh... and Dylan? Thanks."  
  
"Anytime, girl."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Chapter 3

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 3  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The clock in the taxi cab read, "6:21am" as it pulled into the passenger loading and unloading area of Chicago O'Hare International.   
  
'I'm almost late. They should be boarding soon. Only one bag to check. I'm so going to get a polite speech from the airport people about having to show up two hours beforehand. Stupid morning traffic and he picked the wrong airport... great way to start a trip.' Kitty thought as she tipped the cab driver and fetched her duffle bag. She reached inside her leather jacket, pulling out the boarding pass.   
  
The morning crowd wasn't too dense, but it was a saturday. That was enough to warrent a little bit of rush and a few close calls. The chosen airline didn't have a very long line, which was fortunate for Kitty. With her duffle bag checked, all she had was a small purse-like messenger bag that held her laptop and a few personal items. She moved through the security line without any trouble, making her way to the airport terminal. She looked over her watch, they were definitely boarding now. She headed straight to the gate, handing her ticket over to the airline agent. Kitty turned her head and looked around at the bustling airport. 'Am I really going to go through with this? Now or never, Pryde. Dammit. I really do need a vacation.' She took the boarding pass and headed down the ramp to get on the plane. 'At least I get a window seat.'  
  
Kitty moved down the aisle. It wasn't a very full flight in the least, but it had enough bodies to be considered average. She took her seat in an unfilled row. 'That's strange. I thought Wisdom would be here by now...' Kitty looked concerned, but shook her head. 'Probably getting one last smoke break in, the git.' She buckled herself in and sighed, remembering not but a few hours before back at Shan's place.  
  
---  
  
"What took you so long?" Shan asked as Kitty stepped into her friends apartment.  
  
"Discussing work. I hate to say this but... I can't stick around long tonight." Kitty said in a disappointed tone.  
  
"What? Why? Kitty, what's wrong?" Shan stepped over. "Did something happen at work?"  
  
"Yes, but it's nothing to get worried over, Shan." Kitty half-smiled. "I'm going out of town for the week. And I leave in a few hours."  
  
"I have a feeling that all this is connected?" Shan went to the microwave, pulling out a plate and setting it on the table for Kitty.  
  
Kitty sighed, "Yah. Completely connected." She took a seat. "Dylan gave me the go-ahead. I'm doing a favor for a friend. Hopefully I'll be back before you miss me."  
  
"Doubt it." Shan retrieved a drink from the fridge, taking the seat next to Kitty. "Who's the friend?"  
  
"... no one you'd know, I think. Back from my Excalibur days." She waved a hand to shrug the attention off that subject. "I hope it doesn't take the whole week, to be honest. I really wanted to kick back and just relax during spring break. After everything that happened at Bessemer and with the Feebs... it'd be nice, you know? Even Lockheed finally came home."  
  
"Never a dull moment." Shan smiled, then nudged her. "Eat up!"  
  
"Okay, okay!" Kitty laughed. She took her fork and ate at her dinner. "Sorry, though. I know we had plans to catch a movie on your off-days, among other things."  
  
"Hey, you gotta do what you've gotta do, right?" Shan encouraged.  
  
"Disappointed?" Kitty tilted her head, glancing over at Shan  
  
"Just a little. I'll get over it. I know you wouldn't up and leave unless it were something important."  
  
"Here's hoping."   
  
"You don't sound so sure?" Shan sounded concerned.  
  
"I'm not. I have absolutely no idea what I'm getting myself into. What else is new?" Kitty shrugged, finishing off the meal. She took a sip of her drink. "Don't worry. I'll try to make it up to you when I get back, okay?"  
  
"You'd better. I'll hold you to that promise." Shan stood up, taking the plate and putting it in the sink.  
  
Kitty finished her drink and set the cup in the sink as well. "I really... really hate to do this eat and run thing, but I've got to pack. I'm sorry Shan, honestly." She put a hand on Shan's arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. The two had grown closer over these last few months. It was reassuring to have a close friend nearby, someone who knew what it was like before. Kitty couldn't help but think if Shan had a little more than just friendly feelings toward her. She sometimes wondered about the unspoken language between them, but never touched further upon that. It was as if any day Shan might try to take it a step forward. An unknown territory for Kitty. And even though they had something good here, she didn't want to change that or make things awkward.  
  
"I know, it's okay. I'll walk you to the door." Shan followed Kitty across the living room and to the front door. She pulled Kitty into a hug. "Take care of yourself. Call if you can, okay?"  
  
"I will." Kitty hugged back. "You too, Shan." She pulled away and smiled with a wave, "See you in a week."  
  
---  
  
Kitty stared out the plane window. She let out a yawn. 'I'm so tired. Long enough flight though, I should be able to get some rest in.' She pulled her jacket off and wrapped it around in front of her, like a blanket. She leaned her head against the side of the plane, closing her eyes out of exaustion.  
  
The next time she opened her eyes they were already in the air. She rubbed her eyes, "Ow... I hate that."  
  
"Hate what?" A familiar, british accented voice asked.  
  
"Small headache. I didn't get any sleep." Kitty pulled her jacket down, looking at the person who occupied the seat next to her. "I almost thought you ditched me, Wisdom."  
  
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Pete almost sneered.  
  
"To be stranded in Nevada? Seems to be such a CSI plot." Kitty shrugged.   
  
"You know enough people to never be stranded anywhere, Pryde."  
  
"Like I'd ever ask for help."  
  
"Touche." Pete pressed a button his seat, leaning it back. "So tell me what'chu've been up to?"  
  
"Nothing too interesting, compared to the old days." Kitty sighed, "Total lie, but this isn't the place to talk about it."  
  
"I can tell. You're never good at lying." Pete nodded as a stewardess stepped past them. "They never have anything good on these flights. Bloody non-smoking..."  
  
"You can last a few hours without a cigarette. You really haven't changed all that much." Kitty shook her head. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."  
  
"You tell me." Pete pulled out a stick of gum, unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth.  
  
Kitty looked Pete over. A feeling of nostalgia washed over her. She wasn't angry at him, she'd since moved on from that. She reached over and gave his arm a squeeze. "I'm going to get some rest. Wake me up when food arrives."  
  
He looked down at her hand, then nodded. "Right."  
  
---  
  
A light beeping noise from her wristwatch stirred Kitty from her sleep. She reached over, pressing the button to turn it off. The smell of cigarettes and scotch overwhelmed her senses in her half-awake state. Kitty opened her eyes to look around the plane compartment. 'Oh yeah.' She remembered, 'I'm flying... and... I... missed breakfast. Great.' Kitty sat up, straightening out. A bundle of cloth fell into her lap. She reached down and unfolded it, recognizing it as Pete's jacket. She looked to her left, noticing Pete wasn't sitting in the chair but was gone. She looked back down at it with a sigh. 'Silly.'  
  
"Something wrong with me jacket?" Pete asked as he retook his seat.  
  
"Not at all. Just wondering why I have it." Kitty wondered.  
  
"You've had more than my jacket, you shouldn't be that surprised." Pete joked.  
  
"Jerk. You know that's not what I meant."  
  
"You're exausted, I thought ye might like a pillow." Pete said calmly.  
  
Kitty looked back down at the jacket, "Oh. You're not cold?"  
  
"My cold heart tends to keep me from the elements just fine."  
  
"No need to be snarky so early in the morning, even if they are self loathing jokes. Let me at least be awake to appreciate it." Kitty yawned.  
  
Pete nudged Kitty playfully. "Go back to sleep."  
  
"I'll try." She held up the jacket, "Are you sure you don't need this?"  
  
"No, use it. I'm fine."  
  
"Okay..." Kitty folded the jacket back up, putting it under her head to use as a pillow once more. "Thanks."  
  
"I'll wake you when we're closer t'landing."  
  
"Roger." Kitty yawned through the word, relaxing once again in her chair and zoning back into sleep.  
  
---  
  
The squeal of the wheels touching down onto the ground and the eventual slowdown of the airplane stirred Kitty once more from slumber. She opened her eyes, squinting as she looked through the sunlit window. "How... desolate looking." Kitty turned to look at the passenger seat, realizing Pete's head was resting peacefully on her shoulder. She nudged him once, "Hey... wake up." Pete didn't respond. Kitty ruffled his hair, "Hey wanker, rise and shine."  
  
Pete swatted at her hand, "...lemme bloody well sleep in..."  
  
Kitty moved so her shoulder no longer supported him. He snapped awake, giving her a glare. She responded, "We're here. Jeez. You were the one who was supposed to wake me."  
  
"Damned impatient, you are." Pete rubbed his face. "I couldn't help it. The flight was long and your shoulder looked comfortable."  
  
"Whatever." Kitty picked up her bag.  
  
"You didn't have to come." Pete stretched, retrieving his jacket from the chair and pulling it on.  
  
"No, I didn't. And you didn't have to invite me. So now you're stuck." Kitty nudged Pete. "This is like the most we've talked since we broke up."  
  
"And I'm convinced this is the reason." Pete grumbled.  
  
"YOU were the reason." Kitty corrected.  
  
"Not gonna argue that. Everythin's my fault anyway." He waved his hand.  
  
"Don't say that. Fault lies on both our shoulders."  
  
"Pryde, what'd I say about reconcilliation?"  
  
"You said that you weren't here for that."  
  
"Right. Less talk, more work."  
  
"Fine. Whatever." Kitty turned her head to look away, letting out a sigh.  
  
Pete noticed the sigh. "You almost sound upset."  
  
"I've spent enough time worrying about what you've been up to and how this would go. Seems you've already figured it out for me, so why should I even bother? You get whatever. Thank you for being the bigger person." Kitty moved past him on the aisle, pushing ahead to step off the plane before him.  
  
He caught up quickly. "Well when you put it that way, it's like a bloomin' lightbulb turns on above my head reminding me how much of an ass I really am. Oh wait, I ALWAYS was an ass."  
  
"Then maybe 'Asshole' is your secret identity? You never did pick a code-name."  
  
"Are you done yet?" Pete raked his fingers through his hair, frustrated over Kitty's impatience.  
  
"I'm going to get my bag. Just don't talk to me for like... ten minutes, okay? I'll be down in baggage claim." Kitty kicked up her pace, speeding up to keep her distance between her and Pete.  
  
Pete rubbed the bridge of his nose, 'Bloody hell. This is more trouble'n I thought. I can't believe they thought this was a good idea. It's like my own personal hell.' He looked down at his watch. 'Time for the call.' His hand reached into his jacket, turning on a cell phone. Pete dialed a number and held it to his ear. "Yes. Right-o. Bout to get luggage now, then saunter on off to the car. Where might that be? Good. We'll be there in twenty minutes. No, it's not going well. Y'didn't give me much o'a choice, mate. We'll talk later. Bye."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	4. Chapter 4

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 4  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A brown dufflebag with buckles was retrieved by Kitty at the baggage claim. She pulled the strap over her head, resting it on her shoulder. 'Maybe I was too hard on him? Venting a lot of unresolved anger at him. I thought I worked this out in therapy, but then again that's something that has to be defined by normal circumstances, like people not coming back from the dead and such.' She hugged her arms to herself. For a brief moment, she felt vulnerable. 'I have her number. I'm going to have to call to let her know what's going on anyway. I don't want to get in trouble for going on an unplanned trip. Oh crap, and I know Professor Benes wanted me to come in and work on some security protocols too.' She reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out her own cell phone and turning it on.  
  
"Electronic leash got ahold v'ya?" Pete asked as he approached her, "I've got the car ready."  
  
"Yeah, I forgot about some obligations I had other than my job. I guess I could call when we get to the hotel." Kitty looked at the phone as it told her she had messages. She sighed.  
  
"Somethin' wrong?" He wondered, directing her toward the exit.   
  
Kitty followed, "Not really. I just didn't think things through, I should have done a little more preparation."  
  
"You can't prepare for everything."  
  
"No, but I could sure try." Kitty frowned.  
  
"You're better on your toes." Pete commented, stepping out of the building and into the air. He reached into his jacket, pulling out another cigarette, lighting it and taking a deep draw on it. "Finally."  
  
She glanced at her watch, "Should have timed that." Kitty shifted her bag. "Where's your stuff?"  
  
"Already here." Pete pointed over to a very sleek convertable car with the top down, "Did I mention you're drivin'?"  
  
"You trust me to drive? You sure like to live dangerously."  
  
"I'd trust my life in your hands, Pryde. No slight on my end, just the truth." He reached into his pocket and tossed her the keys.  
  
Kitty reached out and grabbed them mid-flight. "Cool. A Mazda Miata? That's a bit sporty. Not quite a low profile vehicle we're going with.."  
  
"Miata? I like 'Roadster' better. Just don't hurt the clutch."  
  
"No guarantees, Wisdom." Kitty went to the trunk, opening it and tossing her bags next to Pete's. She pulled her hair back into a pony tail. "Hope you have directions, I don't know where we're going."  
  
"First time? I thought your family was well off."  
  
"Atlantic City is a bit closer to Chicago than Las Vegas. And we weren't that 'well off'." Kitty closed the trunk.  
  
"Well enough." Pete finished his cigarette and slipped into the passenger side of the car.  
  
"Could we not talk about my family? I get enough of that from my therapist." Kitty took her seat in the drivers side.  
  
"Therapist? Good God, Pryde. I didn't think your life had gone that far down the shitter."  
  
"I'll have you know, it's not my idea of fun either. I didn't exactly sign up for it volunterily." She put the keys in the ignition and looked at Pete. "I got in a fight at school. Old habits die hard, I suppose. The powers that be decided it was in my best interest to get therapy or leave the school, so I chose therapy."  
  
"Really that important to you?"  
  
"Apparently." Kitty deadpanned, starting the car. "Directions, Pete?"  
  
Pete pulled out a piece of paper, "Just follow the way out, it'll put us on a main street. From there we make a left to get to the strip."  
  
"Which hotel?" She followed his instructions, careful not to grind the gears.  
  
"What, you think we'd be staying in one of the fancy high end hotels?"  
  
"Oh, I only hoped. Where are we really going?"  
  
He pointed, "Left here."  
  
"Our car isn't going to blow up at any point, is it?"  
  
"No, those days are behind us." Pete managed a chuckle.  
  
"Good." Kitty continued down the road. "This place is really ugly during the day. What time is it anyway?"  
  
Pete looked at his phone, "A little before noon."  
  
"Okay, so that makes it... a little before two for me. I wasn't sure if it was a one or two hour difference." Kitty turned on the radio.  
  
"You shouldn't concern yourself with that. You're on vacation."  
  
"Like hell I am. So what're the details of the mission?"  
  
"It's a lot easier to brief when you're not drivin'."  
  
Kitty laughed, "Ah yes, the good old days of mission briefing and confidentiality. Almost makes me miss it. Almost."  
  
"Get into the right lane here."  
  
"'kay." She stopped at the light. "What's In N' Out Burger?"  
  
Pete shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe we'll try it later? It's too early for fast food."  
  
"Tell me about it. And you didn't even bother waking me for the in flight meal." Kitty seemed annoyed.  
  
"I fell asleep. We both missed out. Or lucked out, airline food is ghastly." Pete's arm propped up against the frame of the door, hand resting in his hair, enjoying the gentle mild breeze. "We can get food after we check in."  
  
"Right." Kitty glanced over at Pete. A slight knot in her stomach tightened. "Was this really a good idea?"  
  
"Wot now?"  
  
"... inviting me to help you?" She wondered.  
  
"You gettin' cold feet already, Pryde?"  
  
Kitty frowned, "Well, I don't know. Just got a feeling is all."  
  
"Here, pull into that place on the right. Wild Wild West." Pete pointed.  
  
"We're staying at a place called the 'Wild Wild West'?"  
  
"And we're on a budget." Pete noted.  
  
"Yeah but... okay." Kitty shook her head and parked the car. "At least make sure the room has two beds."  
  
"What d'you think I am, daft? Of course it's going to have two beds. I don't want to sleep on the floor." Pete got out of the car. "Just stay out here. I'll be right back."  
  
Kitty nodded as Pete walked away. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed up her voicemail.  
  
"Hi, this is Kitty. Leave a message at the beep."  
  
-Beep-, -Beep- -Beep- -Beep- -Beep-, -Beep-  
  
"You have three unheard messages. First message:"  
  
"Hey Kitty, just seeing what you're up to. This is Tom. I had a spare ticket to a free movie on wednesday, thought you might be interested. Let me know, thanks."  
  
"If you want to save this message, press--"  
  
-Beep-  
  
"Pryde, it's Professor Benes. I double checked your calculations and I'd like you to give me a call back about when we can start this. It's imperative that we get this system in place before another attack occurs. I'll be waiting for your call."  
  
"If you want to save this message--"  
  
-Beep-  
  
"Hi Kitty, it's Shan. Sorry to bug you, but I think I left my jacket at your place. If you can call Dylan and let him know to let me go in and get it, you'd be a lifesaver. I know you're on vacation, but it can't wait a week. Call me if you get bored, bye."  
  
"If you want to save this--"  
  
-Beep-  
  
"End of messages."  
  
Kitty clicked the hang up button. She looked around, Pete hadn't returned. She went through her phone list and dialed a number.  
  
"Professor Benes office."  
  
"Yes, hello, Professor? It's Kitty Pryde."  
  
"Good afternoon. Did you just wake up?"  
  
"Well, yes, sort of. About implimenting the secure system..."  
  
"I'd like to start on that Monday if you're available."  
  
"That's the problem, I'm not.   
  
"Perhaps sometime later in the week?"  
  
"Sorry, Professor. I'm actually not even in the Chicago area right now. I had a..." She paused, thinking of what to say, "Family emergency and had to fly out west this morning."  
  
"Goodness, that doesn't sound pleasant."  
  
"No, it's not. And I feel really bad. Maybe Aaliyah or Sondra can go over my code and help set it up? I know Sondra doesn't live too far from campus. I could find a cafe and send them an email..."  
  
"It's okay, Pryde. Don't worry yourself over it. School is supposed to be out, I just would have liked to get it set up before it got back in session."  
  
"When I get back I could come by and pull an all nighter. You know how good I am at those." Guilt washed over her, "I'm really, sincerely sorry."  
  
"I'll leave you a message if we don't get everything done by saturday. In the meantime, hope your family is okay and enjoy your time away from this place. You spend too much time here anyway."  
  
"I enjoy it."  
  
"Well, enjoy your vacation instead. Have a good week, Pryde."  
  
"You too, Professor. Goodbye." Kitty ended the call. She let out a breath and went back down her phone list to make another call.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Yeah, Tom? It's Kitty."  
  
"Hey Kitty, I was just about to step out."  
  
"S'fine. Just wanted to call, I can't make it to the movie. I'm not in Chicago, seems kinda pointless to hope I'll be back by then. I'm sure Shola or Shan'll want to go in my place."  
  
"Oh? Okay. Where are you?"  
  
"Las Vegas. Look, my battery is running low and I still have a few calls to make. I'll see you in a week, 'kay?"  
  
"Sure. Talk to you later."  
  
"G'Bye." Kitty sighed. 'Where the hell is Wisdom?' She went back to her phone list and dialed another number.  
  
"Belles of Hell."  
  
"Is Dylan around? It's Kitty."  
  
"Sure, hold on." The sound of muffled bar noises in the backround before finally, "Hey girl, you in Vegas?"  
  
"Yah. It's hot as hell. I have a favor to ask."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"Shan needs to get into my place, she left something there. Can you let her in? Not now, later tonight. Or lend her a key or something. I don't mind."  
  
"Sure Kitty, no problem. Anything else?"  
  
"Nope, that's it. I'll check in later in the week if anything exciting happens."  
  
"Yes, and I'll spoil you with all the juicy gossip."  
  
"Sounds like a fair trade." Kitty smiled. "Talk to you later."  
  
"Have a good one. Goodbye!"  
  
Kitty leaned back in the chair, finding another number. Her left hand ran through her hair as she placed another call.  
  
"Dr. Lyszinski's office."  
  
"Uh, yes, is Dr. Lyszinski in perchance?"  
  
"Not at the moment, may I take a message?"  
  
"Sure. Let her know Katherine Pryde called. She knows my number, if she can give me a call back on my cell phone, that would be fabulous."  
  
"I will. Have a nice day."  
  
"You too." She looked around the parking lot. 'Guess I'll have to call her later. We've been making a lot of progress, so I really hope I can talk my way out of any appointments this week. One more call...' She clicked the send button.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Shan?"  
  
"Yeah... Kitty?"  
  
"Good guess. I told Dylan to give you a key or let you into my place later. Just don't forget to lock up when you're done, okay? And if he's around, can you check on Lockheed?"  
  
"No problem. Uh, actually..."  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"I didn't want to spoil your vacation, but I've been noticing a high concentration of Feds around today. I think they caught on you skipped town."  
  
"I was pretty surprised I'm not on any banned flying lists, but I guess not. They'll have to cope, it's not unreasonable for a college student to go party for spring break." Kitty commented.  
  
"Right, but I'm telling you this because whatever it is you're doing... they're probably tailing you as we speak. Just keep a low profile and don't go doing anything crazy, okay?"  
  
"Thanks for the concern. I'll let my partner in on the secret. We're currently at the seediest hotel-motel looking place I've ever seen in my life, and he's checking into it." Kitty couldn't hide the disgust in her voice.  
  
"Sounds fun. I'll track down Dylan later. Thanks for that."  
  
"No problemo. It's been months, you'd think they'd leave me alone."  
  
"You weren't leaving the state before."  
  
"True that. Okay, give the twins my love. I'll be back hopefully in a few days."  
  
"Sure thing. I already miss you being around."  
  
"I'm already regretting leaving Chicago." She groaned.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Shan sounded concerned.  
  
"I'm fine, I'm just overexagerating. I just need to get some rest in a comfortable bed and a good meal. You know how cranky I can get."  
  
"No kidding. Good luck. I'll call you later. Bye."  
  
"Yeah. Bye." Kitty locked the keypad on the phone and slipped it into her inner jacket pocket. 'Just great. Another thing to worry Wisdom, I'm sure.'  
  
"Hey Pryde."  
  
"Mn?" Kitty turned in her seat to look at Pete as he called her name.  
  
"We're checked in, Let's fetch the bags."  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	5. Chapter 5

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 5  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
As soon as they entered the hotel room, Kitty set her laptop bag down on a small table, then dropped her duffle onto the ground. She stepped over to bed furthest from the door and flopped down onto it, face first.  
  
"Wee bit dramatic, aren't you?" Pete set his own bag down, locking up the door on the room securely.  
  
"I'm tired. Really really tired."  
  
"You've gone soft, Pryde."  
  
"I went to school and worked almost an eight hour shift yesterday. I have a right to be a little exausted. I'm part of the working class now." Kitty pulled down a pillow from under the covers, hugging it to herself.  
  
"Soft I say."  
  
"Just brief me or let me nap." Kitty complained playfully.  
  
"Impatient too." Pete took a seat on the other bed. "I'm considering nap."  
  
"Don't do me any favors. Please... just spit it out." She turned to face Pete, laying on her side.  
  
He smiled. He would never let her know, but that's something he sorely missed about their dynamic. The honest interaction. "That's the spirit. All we got are clues. In fact it has a lot of what we're already familiar with."  
  
"Hopefully not former British intelligence officers attempting to off us." She yawned.  
  
"Not that easy. No, we've got a chain of murders, actually."  
  
"What?" Kitty sat up, her attention captured. "I THOUGHT this was about finding your cousin?"  
  
"I told you, I think there's a cult-like influence and she's involved. You're like my 'Scully', Pryde. If there's anyone else who can crack it, it's us. I've got faked identification and government papers that'll give us access to all the sorrid details and a list of locations to start with. It's all pretty fresh. The hardest part is that you need to nose around for information not as an official, but as one of them." Pete unzipped his bag, pulling out a very well made fake identification and two government badges.  
  
"One of them?"  
  
"A confused young mutant. You weren't part of Xavier's whole outting of the lot of you."  
  
"Because I left that life." Kitty noted, then commented, "How '21 Jump Street'ish."  
  
"Either way, the media doesn't know you and that's fine by me."  
  
"You're right. You'd be wrong if this were England. Excalibur wasn't very secretive, but not many people in the states would remember superheroes of abroad from several years ago." Kitty looked over the fake ID. "You made me a bit older than I am."  
  
"They card everyone here. I thought you'd like bein' an adult for a few days." Pete smirked.  
  
"In every sense of the word, I already am one." Kitty rolled her eyes.  
  
"Then t'be able to share a drink with me stateside." He grumbled. "You know what I meant."  
  
"Right." Kitty pulled out her real ID and slipped it into the front pocket of her dufflebag, replacing it with the fake one. "Oh, uh... I actually have some news. Not good."  
  
Pete closed his bag up, "What is it?"  
  
"I was returning some calls from my voicemail and found out the FBI was all over my place today."  
  
"FBI? What have you been into?" Pete wondered.  
  
"Nothing that constitutes the harassment I've gotten from the US government, that's for sure. It's not right." She started, "A month or so ago I had some local trouble... a hate website tagged me and my class as being mutants. A routine experiment went horribly out of control - sabotaged. I helped with killing the power, and somehow we all managed to get out alive. But because of the amount of damage and the giant painted targets on us, the FBI wasn't happy with the answers we gave, collectively. They thought we might have done it to ourselves to be martyrs. Yeah, right. I got an injuction from my lawyer so at least my home and posessions no longer were seized, but they still haven't quite left me alone."  
  
"Bloody hell, Pryde. You call this normal?"  
  
"No, God no. I said I WANTED a normal life. I've just gotten more trouble than it's worth FOR that dream. It's all those superhero instincts kicking in. Doing what's right and all that." Kitty pulled her hair out of the ponytail. "Shouldn't that be all that matters? Why does it have to be so hard?"  
  
Pete reached over and touched her shoulder. "Because anything worth fighting for is always hard. Just like your staying in school, right? Might be difficult, but it's what you want. I'm just sorry to hear it's been rough."  
  
"I wasn't asking for a pity party." Kitty looked at Pete. "I've managed. I've survived it. I've dealt. I'm just informing you we may have some unexpected company."  
  
"That's something we don't need, then. I'll take care of it. I have a few favors left, 'bout time I cashed one in."  
  
"You don't have to do that."  
  
"No, but I want to." Pete nodded and got out his own phone. "We've got to exchange numbers too. That way we can keep dibs on each other when we're off on our own."  
  
Kitty hesitated, then nodded. "Okay then. Do it."  
  
"Think of it as my payment for askin' you to come out here." Pete nodded. "I'll be right back." He went to the door and stepped outside.  
  
She relaxed, laying back down on the bed. Her eyes closed heavily, dozing off for a long moment before the familiar chime of her ringtone made her awaken. She reached into her inner pocket, pulling the phone out. "Mnnnnn... hello.."  
  
"Katherine? It's Maureen. My secretary said you had called. Is everything fine?"  
  
"Oh, well, just a little bit." Kitty tried to sit up, but gave up. "I'm nowhere near my computer. Did I have any appointments this week with you?"  
  
"On Wednesday. You sound exausted."   
  
Kitty bit her lip, "I am. Well.. crap. Is it possible to reschedule, after spring break?"  
  
"It's spring break already?"  
  
"Unfortunately." She took a deep breath. "And I'm not in Chicago, either. I need to reschedule for later. I got on a plane this morning, there's a family emergency out west."  
  
"Katherine, you shouldn't lie. I know enough to know your family isn't anywhere near the west coast."  
  
"I didn't say it was MY family, Maureen." Kitty corrected. "Just A family, someone I'm close with. Besides, it is spring break..."  
  
"I understand, Katherine. But I hope to see you back like usual after your vacation?"  
  
"Trust me when I say this won't be much of a vacation. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome. Goodbye, Katherine."  
  
Kitty didn't even bother replacing the phone in her jacket. She let go of it, allowing it to fall onto the bed. 'I was all wired at my usual wake up time, but now the lack of sleep has caught up to me. This must be a sign I'm getting old.' She put the pillow under her head and closed her eyes, easily falling asleep.  
  
---  
  
The faint hum of the television and voices in the backround woke Kitty up. She looked over to the other bed, Pete seated with his back to the headboard and a remote control in his hand. He glanced over to her, "... morning to you, sunshine."  
  
She rubbed her eyes, pulling a light cover off of her, "What're you watching?"  
  
"MASH."  
  
"What time is it?" She wondered.  
  
"Four thirty eight. I thought you were hungry?"  
  
"I am. My body won the war against hungry and tired though, sorry." Kitty got up and stretched. "Have you eaten yet?"  
  
"Nope, was waiting on you. Didn't want t'be rude."   
  
"Okay... well... let me shower real quick and then we can head out for food, cool?"  
  
"I can wait, just don't take too long." Pete motioned with the remote.  
  
"I won't." Kitty opened her bag and gathered some clothes to change into, heading into the bathroom for a shower.  
  
It didn't take much for her to get cleaned up. Despite the heat, the weather was surprisingly dry and mild. A far cry from Chicago, but pleasant if one grew sick of the cold winter months. Kitty dressed in a tank top and a pair of jeans. She stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around her neck, letting her hair hang loosely to dry. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, looking over at Pete without speaking.  
  
His eyes shifted to her form. She HAS gotten a little taller, among other things. She looked different. Was it an air of confidence? Was it the year and a half or so of real life, as opposed to the surreal life she had lived before? It was hard to determine. She was just... older. Pete noticed her look. "What?"  
  
"What, what?" Kitty blinked, snapping out of her gaze.  
  
"You sure you're fine?" Pete scooted down his bed, to sit across from her.  
  
"I'm good. Better now that I've had a nap." She reached up and continued to dry her hair. "... thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Before I forget. I wanted to thank you for looking me up. I know it may appear that I wanted to run very far from my past. I didn't. I just wanted to build a better life for my future... and I thought that this was the way to do it."  
  
"It's admirable." Pete admitted.  
  
"Admirable? You flatter me, Wisdom. All I've become is a smaller target. I suppose that's a tiny victory, somewhere." Kitty retrieved her brush, straightening out her wet hair.  
  
Pete shrugged, "Not flattering. It's honestly admirable."  
  
"I suppose. My GPA will prove to be the dealbreaker." Kitty dropped the towel onto the bed. "What about you?"  
  
"What about me? I'm hungry." Pete got up and pulled his jacket back on.  
  
"Oh, right. Let's go."  
  
---  
  
The late lunch had been served. The two sat at a table, both plates cleaned off as Pete took care of the check. He passed Kitty a few newspaper clippings. She carefully read over them...  
  
'Strange crimespree, might be connected to the rising mutant menace..'  
  
'Odd markings all over the ground and on the body of the corpse, which appears to have been burned in some sort of sacrifice.'  
  
'Unnatural flashes lead investigators to an abandoned cabin, just outside of Mount Charleston which housed the still bodies of several missing persons. Some still unidentified...'  
  
"Pete... this is some really messed up stuff." She took a sip of her nearly empty drink, "They're all related?"  
  
"'fraid so. I brought some equipment with that can pick up traces. Special cameras and other extra gadgets. Very your-kind of thing. Today we scout a few of the locations, see if we find clues. Then tomorrow we start the manhunt." Pete took a drag on his freshly lit cigarette.  
  
"Sounds like another day at the office."   
  
"Just about." He tapped the ash into the glass tray.  
  
"So... this has been bugging me. Weren't you missing an eye?" Kitty smirked, finishing off her soda.  
  
"Eh, I was also dead. You can't believe everythin' you hear."  
  
"No, seriously. What was up with the eyepatch? Was that like... a pirate phase? Cause you know, sounds like you're trying to park in Kurt's zone there. Even I've had my pirate moments, but never wore an eyepatch in REAL life..."  
  
"Oh shut up." He attempted to sound annoyed, but couldn't help but smile.  
  
"Just wondering, that's all." Kitty lightheartedly dropped the subject.  
  
"I'll 'ave you know, women are quite sympathetic if you're missing an eye."  
  
"Really now? How many women were 'sympathetic' to you? Hmm?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know." Pete continued the smile.  
  
Kitty shrugged. She leaned back and looked at him with an honest expression. "I don't see how. You're much cuter with both eyes. They kind of work as a... clear window into the soul of a very bitter old man, I think."  
  
"A'right, that's enough out of you, Pryde."  
  
She managed a small laugh. "Are we done here?"  
  
"We're done. Time to get some real work done fer a change." He stood up, stamping out his cigarette as they left for the exit.  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	6. Chapter 6

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 6  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The crimescene was still fresh. Stains of blood not yet cleaned off the floorboards and sheets of the modest cabin in the mountains outside of Las Vegas proper.  
  
"Terrible." Vocalized Kitty as she took a picture.  
  
Wisdom kneeled down, taking a sample of the bloodstained cloth and putting it in a small bag. "Looks burned." He commented to her.  
  
"Everything does. Either there's scorchmarks or blood. Sometimes both. I'd almost claim arson if I didn't know better." She snapped another picture.  
  
"Knowin' better doesn't make it right." Pete continued to gather small, unnoticable samples.  
  
"Isn't this called tampering with the crimescene?"  
  
"It isn't tampering when we're working with the law."  
  
"Are we?" Kitty wondered, glancing at Pete.  
  
"Of course we are." He gave her a strange look back. "What, you think I go around fussing with other peoples business for fun?"  
  
"No..." Her voice trailed off, "Just usually you're more of an... above the law sort of guy. No offense."  
  
"Now Pryde, tell me how you REALLY feel?" Pete grumbled.  
  
"Come ON. You used to be a spy. You killed people and did rather unscrupulous things for a living. Judge, jury, and executioner in one, courtesy of Her Majesty's blessing."  
  
"Black Air may have been part of my past, but it doesn't reflect fully on the whole person that I am." He snapped bitterly.  
  
"I wasn't saying that, Pete. I know more than anyone about that..." Kitty frowned, "And you know that I don't think badly about you because of your previous associations. What I meant was that this would seem easier solved in a more familiar, covert like way instead of working with the authorities outright."  
  
"We are. They do know about us. We're just hidin' in plain sight." Pete said. "Don't worry too much about it."  
  
"I won't." Kitty paused. She snapped another picture before reaching over and touching Pete on the shoulder. "Hey. I'm trying..." She stopped. "Nevermind."  
  
"Tryin' what?" He looked at her.  
  
"To look at the situation objectively." Kitty glanced back at the ground, changing the subject. "So you think she's apart of this?"  
  
"The clues point to yes. It might 'ave been accidental. Not premeditated. We can hope." Pete looked at the evidence in hand.  
  
Kitty took one last picture then shook her head, "I don't think we can get more from this. Let's go." She headed for the door, stepping out into the mountain air. "Aaaaaaaah, cool weather."  
  
"Missin' Chicago already?" Pete wondered, stepping out behind her and putting what he had gathered in a shoulder messenger bag.  
  
"Not so much miss it as I'm not used to this climate. At least up here near the mountain it's a little cooler. You can still see snow on the top." Kitty looked up, then back to Pete. "But on the other hand, it's a nice change of pace." She smiled.  
  
Pete chuckled. "Right. Now we've got to get back to the valley to check out two other locations."  
  
"So soon?" She headed to the car, "But it's so nice up here."  
  
"Maybe another time. We've only got a little more daylight left. The nightlife doesn't leave much for photography." Pete got into the passenger side.  
  
"I suppose." Kitty put her equipment in the trunk. She opened her door and sat down, placing the keys in the ignition and cranking the car. "When do I get to start playing undercover?"  
  
"As soon as tomorrow, if you like."  
  
"The sooner the better, right?" Kitty pulled out of the parking space and started to drive back toward the city.  
  
"Right. Now we're headin' to a lovely place called Summerlin..."  
  
---  
  
The second location was far more devistated. A single, abandoned school bus - charred thoroughly. The smell of death still in the air as the two approached the scene.  
  
"Oh, God." Kitty muttered, pulling on her bag and restrapping her camera. "This one is far worse."  
  
"No kidding." Pete pulled his sunglasses off, tossing them onto his car seat as he approached the bus. "I don't think they had a chance to get out in time."  
  
Kitty swallowed hard. Things didn't make her squeamish, but there's only so much she could look at clinically before it all started get to her. "Fire again." She then noticed, "But this one seems chemical based... there's a strange scent about it."  
  
"Now that's my girl. What else?" Pete smirked.  
  
She glanced at Pete oddly before taking pictures. "This place wasn't just a bus. It was..." Kitty frowned, "People lived here, Pete. Like a home."  
  
"Homeless teens liked to use it as crashspace." Pete started his evidence gathering.  
  
"And it was just... burned down. With people inside." Kitty shuddered.   
  
"Less of a struggle than the other place. Looks like they didn't know what hit 'em." He ran his hand along some deep, ripped up metal along the side of the bus - like scratches. Pete pointed them out to Kitty.  
  
"You really DO take me to the nicest places, you know that?" Kitty took a picture of the marks.  
  
"Don't worry, drinks are on me tonight." Pete stepped over to the car, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "We can't go inside it."  
  
"I don't think I'd want to." She made a face, taking one last picture. "I'm really not cut out for this work."  
  
Pete took a drag on his smoke, "Not many people are. Don't worry, one last place then I'll cut you loose."  
  
"How kind." She repacked her equipment away. "I swear though, if I puke I'm totally blaming it on you."  
  
"My, what attractive imagery." He put out the cigarette, saving half for later. "No, this last one isn't gory. More along the supernatural side o'things."  
  
"Lead the way then." Kitty returned to the drivers seat.  
  
---  
  
Final location of the day. Deep down in a drainage wash on the east side of town. Rocks, sewage water, and very strange markings.  
  
"Even though I know this isn't much my forte... there's really an odd vibe here." Kitty started to examine the markings, taking a picture or two.  
  
"You too? I thought I was the only one." Pete looked around, stepping carefully around the odd collection of rocks. "This feels like it's occultish. Notice how it's all set about in a circle."  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine." Kitty continued to photograph the area.  
  
"Yeh, but I'm payin' you for yours." He suggested.  
  
She rolled her eyes, then looked at it outside of the camera lense. "Okay... I do admit there's a weird... something going on though. Nothing good. It's vaguely familiar. I can't put into words the dark kind of feelings that this stirs up, Pete. Whether it's a darker side of me, or another I was close with... I just know it's not good." Kitty seemed distant as she tried to describe it.  
  
Pete observed Kitty for a long moment, then said. "Enough, Pryde. I don't know about you, but I need a drink."  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me. Good riddance to this place." She shook her head, following Pete back up to the car. "Maybe you should drive."  
  
"Just get us back to the hotel, we'll take a taxi from there." Pete urged.  
  
"Okay, okay..." She resigned, taking her place in the drivers seat. "But if I--"  
  
"You won't." Pete cut her off. "Just drive."  
  
Kitty managed to glare at Pete, starting the car and driving silently to the hotel.  
  
---  
  
The loud music echoed over the sound system as Pete and Kitty sat at a small table. A few empty bottles of beer along with a shot glass lined the edge. The discarded bones of buffalo wings and half-eaten cheese fries near the center.  
  
"Ooooh ooh! I've got this one." Kitty said excitedly.  
  
"Don't bloody keep it from me. Tell me the answer, Pryde!" Pete sounded annoyed.  
  
"No way, I'm in the lead!" Kitty laughed.  
  
"I'm not going to be able to catch up even if I got them all right.." He took another swig of his beer.  
  
Kitty leaned over and pressed the button. "It's number four."  
  
"You always have to make things difficult." Pete nudged her.  
  
"No way!" Kitty jokingly pouted. "You're just not trying."  
  
"Now that's a lie, I always try." Pete noted. He leaned in suggestively.  
  
"Is that so?" Kitty smiled. She was feeling quite a bit better, having eaten dinner and gotten a drink or two in. Wisdom never seemed as imposing or rude after a few hours of exposure. She said quite confidently, "Well, Wisdom, I think you just suck at trivia then."  
  
"I suppose there are worse things to suck at." Pete shrugged his shoulders, turning his trivia console off. He leaned back in the booth, continuing to watch Kitty with a light smirk on his lips.  
  
"I suppose." Kitty answered another question, then pushed Pete playfully.   
  
Pete pointed to the screen. "You won."  
  
"Was there any doubt?" She smiled smugly. "Now I know you're not that much of a slouch. What's with the low scoring?"  
  
"Lack of coordination." He shook his head. "I'm not quick enough for the likes of you. You seem a bit more chipper."  
  
She smiled, taking a fry. "I guess I just needed to get out of there and sit down. A little different than my current daily grind."  
  
"S'not like we did this very much before, eh?"  
  
"No, we didn't. We were always a good team though." Kitty finished off her drink. "What're you looking at?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing! Wot, I have to have a permit to enjoy yer company? Paranoid."  
  
"I'm not paranoid." She stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Don't you dare point that thing at me unless you intend to use it." Pete propped an elbow up on the table, tilting himself toward Kitty.  
  
"Ooh, whatcha gonna do about it?" She reached over and tugged at his tie playfully, in a small but defiant gesture.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Pete managed an unsure smile. Her grip still wrapped around the cloth as she tugged him closer. Their faces only a few inches apart. He wasn't about to back down from a dare, but he wasn't exactly sure how far this little game should go. He tilted his head as she leaned in.  
  
"-Ring- -Ring- -Ring-" The cell phone ringtone snapped the moment free, Kitty pulled back away from Wisdom and reached into her jacket to retrieve her phone. "Uh... hello? I'm sorry? No, you've got the wrong number. Okay. It's okay. Goodnight." She put it in her jacket, leaning back in her seat. Her eyes shifted back to Pete, a look of apology on her face. "Sorry about that."  
  
Pete finished off his beer. "Let's get our cab. It's getting late and we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."  
  
"Oh... right. Tomorrow." Kitty awkwardly smiled. "Yet another fun filled day of murder and mystery. Never a dull moment." She stood up and stretched.   
  
"Wouldn't 'ave it any other way." Pete threw a few bills on the table for the gratuity and attempted to climb out of the booth behind her. The unsteady step after a few drinks set him offbalance as he stumbled forward.   
  
Kitty turned and caught him as he almost knocked into her. She nudged him and helped him regain his center. "Watch out there, we almost had an awkward situation."  
  
"Almost?" Pete raised an eyebrow.  
  
She may have been a little buzzed, but she caught what that meant. Her expression unsure, "I think we seriously, desperately need sleep."  
  
"Of course. Sleep'll cure anything. Let's go." Pete felt a little put off by her reaction. He straightened out his coat and headed for the door as Kitty following along behind quietly. It didn't take long for the cab to retrieve them and take them back to their hotel for the night. A subtle but nerve wracking silence between them throughout the drive home.  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	7. Chapter 7

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 7  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The morning haze still ever present as the man known as Pete Wisdom attempted to awaken. He rubbed his eyes, reaching over with his free hand to turn the digital alarm clock toward him to view the time. It was already past nine in the morning. He remembered not being in a terribly good mood at the end of the night, but for the most part those feelings were gone as he took in the room in the low morning light.  
  
"Mornin'." said the all too familiar voice of his current on the road partner, Kitty Pryde.  
  
"What're doin' up already?" Pete wondered as he straightened out his mildly messed dark hair.  
  
"Can't help it. My body has a tendancy to wake me up at same time every day - even with jet-lag. Thought I'd get some work in." Kitty was sitting at a desk inside the room, her laptop open. The screen had images from the different places displayed on it.  
  
"What all 'ave you done?" He wondered, climbing out of bed to join her.   
  
Kitty reached over and poured out a cup of coffee from a thermos, passing it over to Pete as he stood beside her. He took the coffee thankfully, taking a sip.  
  
"I've uploaded all the images from the camera onto my computer. I'm not exactly sure how to fully work your little crime-med-lab for the samples, so I've just been working on this half. I also bought a roadmap and started to mark down the places we've been, using sticker-dots." She pointed over to the bed.  
  
"Good work, Pryde. Find anything useful?"  
  
"Not really. You'll probably get more from the samples. Since the camera was special technology in the first place, most of the images have weird energy signals all over the place. It's a little hard for me, since I'm not sure what I'm looking at." Kitty pulled a donut out of a box, taking a bite. "I did get the morning paper, and there's a write up on a few more mysterious... out of the ordinary circumstances that sound like our girl's work. She certainly keeps busy."  
  
Pete took another sip of his coffee, "Now that's somethin' your wrong about. It's not just 'our girl', it's a whole mess of 'em."  
  
"Then THEY certainly keep busy. I pulled out the section over there if you want to read. Think we're going to get much done today? It is Sunday." Kitty continued to examine the pictures.  
  
"In the city that never sleeps, Sunday is just another day." Pete started to read the paper. "Where'd you get coffee?"  
  
"Convenience store. I couldn't sleep once I got up. Rested too much yesterday." She commented, matter of factly. "So these bluish waves... that's the mutant-signature, right?"  
  
"Indeed. You can see where it started." Pete folded the paper down and pointed out on the screen, "Looks like from here it was triggered to cause the bus fire."  
  
"So what're the orange waves?" Kitty wondered.  
  
"Those, I believe, are more supernatural based. Perhaps magic. It's not completely unfathomable."  
  
"So we're dealing with a pyrokinetic?"  
  
"I'm not sure. While two of the three had aspects that looked fire-related at moments, even you said that the bus had a chemical base to it."  
  
"That was a guess. I'm not so sure with this evidence." Kitty finished her donut.  
  
"You're more on spot than that. See, check out the pan-shot you took." Pete moved the mouse over to another picture. "The signature starts from way over here, and it's like a chain reaction and the bus caught fire." He pointed out the wave. "It may have had a leak."  
  
"So you're saying it's more like a spark."  
  
"Anything with a kinetic energy blast type field could have set off that reaction." Pete noted.  
  
"What about the cabin? That was obviously fire." Kitty switched over to that set of pictures.  
  
Pete looked it over, "Might be just heat based like mine."  
  
"Hmm. That is a possibility too." Kitty took another sip of coffee. "The cabin was premeditated, more controlled. The bus was a total accident. You can tell by the burst here and here." She pointed. "Accidental death like this would still be considered manslaughter, but when it comes to something like mutant abilities acting up at the wrong time... would it be easy for the law to look at it like a bad driver in a car or as someone who carries around a gun without a license? It gets tricky. Either way, the other two places go into a whole different zone."  
  
"Don't I know it." He finished his cup of coffee. "I'll shower up then we'll come up with a plan for the day. Did you need to get in there?"  
  
"No, I'm fine. Got in there while you were sleeping." Kitty then asked, "Want to set up the med-lab real quick to start anaylizing those samples?"  
  
"Nag, nag, nag..." Pete teased as he started to unpack that equipment and set it up. "You could've done this yourself. I know you're capable."  
  
Kitty shook her head, "It didn't come with instructions and it seemed JUST a little too important for me to break trying to figure it out. Show me later."  
  
"Fine, fine." He stopped working on it and went to his bag. "I'm going to shower now."  
  
"Okay..." She dismissively waved as she continued to look over what she had.  
  
"You put the sample in that box, and then you press the green button. Not rocket science." Pete pointed back to the mini-lab, gathering some clothes to change into before heading to the bathroom.   
  
"I'll get on that then." Kitty yelled as he closed the door behind himself. She scooted her chair back and went to Pete's messenger bag to pull out some of the samples. She followed his instructions, placing the first of many samples in and pressing the button. 'This'll take a while.' She thought. Kitty went to her travel bag and pulled out something a little more comfortable to change into. She stripped off the baggy shirt she was wearing to slip into a tank top. She tucked it in then pulled on a belt to go with her cargo pants. She then retrieved her phone and slipped it into her pants pocket, returning to the computer and pouring herself another cup of coffee.  
  
A freshly cleaned Pete exited the bathroom shortly after, white button up shirt and black slacks, sans the tie. He stepped over to the lab machine, handing a small printout to Kitty as it came. He idly dried his hair as he looked her over. He smiled and asked, "I've been dying to know."  
  
"Hmm?" Kitty looked over the printout, entering the information onto her laptop.  
  
"When'd you get a tattoo? That's real, ain't it?" Pete pulled up a chair.  
  
"When I was old enough to." She answered with a bit of a smile.  
  
"It's nice. A dragon, after your pet?" Pete wondered.  
  
Kitty nodded. "Around a rebellious phase. Cut my hair, flirted with danger, went to college... a nice reminder. I don't regret it, despite religious implications otherwise."  
  
"Y'always seemed too straight-laced for somethin' like that."  
  
"Nuh-uh. Maybe the young Jewish girl you once knew." She laughed. "A lot has changed in a few years, huh?"  
  
"And sometimes things don't change much at all." Pete nodded, standing up to get something out of his coat. "I'm goin' outside for a smoke. You're welcome to join me."  
  
"What a kind offer. I think I just might." Kitty pushed her chair back and followed Pete to the door, stepping out into the morning light.  
  
Pete lit the cigarette, taking a drag off it and leaning against the wall. "We've managed to work one day together w'out trying kill each other."  
  
"Yah, imagine that." She rubbed her arms. "I didn't doubt it could be done."  
  
"Does it feel weird?" Pete asked.  
  
"What?" She wondered.  
  
"Workin' like this, with me a second time around." He watched her carefully.  
  
Kitty thought about that then shook her head, "No. Not in the least. We may have not always been the most compatible people on Earth, but when it comes down to it... we get things done. And we do them well."  
  
"It's true." Pete tapped the ash of the cigarette off. "Glad to hear it."  
  
"You didn't need me to say it." She stretched, looking toward the strip.  
  
"Even I have doubts about the decisions I make, Pryde."  
  
"Don't worry about it." Kitty smiled at him. "So what's on the agenda for today?"  
  
Pete took another drag on the cigarette, "I get to follow up on your newspaper lead, however you get the fun job of checking out a few of the hang out spots. We'll meet up for dinner and compile what we got."  
  
"Ah yes, the undercover portion." She pulled out her phone and handed it to Pete, "Put in your number so we can get ahold of each other."  
  
"My phone's inside." He idly thumbed along the keypad to input his number and saved it. He tossed it back to her.   
  
She caught it and slipped it back into her pants pocket. "What do I need to know? What am I getting into?"  
  
"You're looking for a girl named Jade Thomas. Poke around, don't be too obvious, and make sure you talk to the right people. I've got a picture in the room so you'll know who you're looking for, but considerin' circumstance, there's a strong chance she's hidin' out."  
  
"Gotcha. How many places you want me to check out?"  
  
"I've got three. I'll give you money to taxi about, can't chance them noticing you've got wheels." Pete finished his cigarette and stepped back into the room. Kitty followed.  
  
"So I have to pretend I'm a homeless teen?"  
  
"Imply it, but don't say too much. I trust you'll find an in. I don't want you sleepin' on the streets or any of that rubbish, I just want you to find out whereabouts she's gone." Pete went to his bag and pulled out a picture, passing it over to her.  
  
She looked over the photo. Kitty set it down on the table. "And when I do?"  
  
"We move in on it, together."  
  
"Then what? I realize we're acting on behalf of something bigger, here... the question on my mind is what exactly we're going to do once we get there?" Kitty seemed hesitant. She stepped over to her bag, pulling out a blue longsleeved button up shirt and putting it on.  
  
"Pay no mind to that, I've got it covered." Pete took out a pad of paper, writing down some information.  
  
"... okay..." Kitty buttoned up the shirt.  
  
"You trust me, right?" Pete asked.  
  
Kitty glanced at him, still silent. Her expression unreadable.  
  
"Oh for Gods sake, Pryde. You DO trust me, right?" He looked annoyed.  
  
"Yes, yes, of course. I just wanted to see your reaction." She waved a hand.  
  
Pete grumbled, pulling the paper off the pad and handing it to her. "Then we've got nothin' to worry about. Here are your correspondance points. Spend a few hours at each, then call me and we'll meet up."  
  
"Roger." She looked at the list.  
  
He picked up the keys and headed for the door. "And try not to draw too much attention to yourself?"  
  
"You say that like you don't trust ME, Wisdom." Kitty followed him.  
  
"Just don't go about beating up the witnesses or anything."  
  
"You wound me. I'm doing much better at my anger management now, thanks."  
  
Pete smiled, getting into the car. "Sure you 'ave."  
  
"And while we're at it, don't get anyone pissed off at you so that they booby trap our car with bombs, or send the mafia after us." She added, getting into the passenger side.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind. Might forget, though... you know, I am going senile in my old age."  
  
"At least you admit it."  
  
"Can't go a day without an age joke."  
  
"Yeah, right?" Kitty asked. "Just shut up and drive."  
  
"Yes Ma'am."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	8. Chapter 8

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 8  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
'What is that that Logan always said? There's no such thing as luck. It's been a long time since I've played detective and you'd think that this kind of work would require someone with a degree, or at least a sense of what I'm doing? Not in my case, apparently. Though, I have to give Wisdom credit where it's due - when we put our minds together, we either find the answer or we know someone who does. Am I actually justifying him contacting me for this escapade? Ack. I should make a device that zaps me every time I think the sentence, 'Wisdom was right.''  
  
"Okay, so three places?" Kitty broke the silence as they drove down a street known as Industrial.  
  
Pete carefully gripped the wheel, "First is a somewhat of an amusement park, place called the Adventuredome. It's got a place inside with dancing games, there's a group of kids that go and breakdance there. One o'their group knows her, I'm sure of it."  
  
"That's not vague at all. And if not?"  
  
"Keep an ear out."  
  
"Right, okay. Second one?"  
  
"Near the University, down on Maryland. There's a cyber cafe, Kinkos, and there used to be a coffee shop - not exactly a safe place to be around, but there 'ave been people comin' up missing around there."  
  
"College students?"  
  
"Homeless people. I thought you were paying attention?" Pete sounded annoyed.  
  
"I have. I didn't get your train of... er... anywhos, what about the last place?"  
  
"The area near an old theatre. I think it's a performance place now, called the Huntridge." Pete carefully shifted and continued to drive. "M'sorry I yelled at you."  
  
Kitty blinked, "Huh? Why're you apologizing? Don't worry about it. You wrote down those addresses, right?"  
  
"It's right there on that notepad, I marked down additional clues 'bout what you might be looking for. Go ahead and take it w'you. Remember, call me at the first sign of any trouble, got it?"  
  
"Yes sir!" She stuffed the pad in her pocket, jokingly mocking Pete and his serious demeanor.  
  
Pete grumbled, "Laugh it up, Pryde. I'd rather NOT bail you out of jail or investigate YOUR death, got it?"  
  
"Shut up, now I know you're not serious. You have way more faith in me than that." Kitty got out of the car as Pete stopped it at the entrance.  
  
He leaned over and had a serious expression on his face, "Be careful."  
  
She blinked and nodded, "Yeah, okay. I'll call when I'm done."  
  
---  
  
Kitty put the ten dollar bill into a changer. She grabbed a small bucket next to the machine and started to scoop the loose change into it. 'He gets to go to the fresh crime scene and where am I? An arcade inside a place that sounds like it came from the 'Mad Max' series. What kind of name is 'Adventuredome', anyway? It's not even half as ominous as it sounds.' She pulled out a very small pad of paper with scribbled notes. 'Question breakdancers near the Dance machines.' Kitty grumbled and stuffed the paper back into her pants side pocket. She thought about the car ride over.  
  
'What's with the serious attitude? At first I thought this was all about finding his cousin and getting her home, but now the vibe is different. I should always trust my instincts, and the further into this we get the more I just don't feel right about it, or the clues surrounding it.' She glanced and saw a staircase heading up to a second level. Kitty walked up and around to a second floor with a multitude of large video games. Her eyes shifted to the titles, 'Dance Dance Revolution', 'Beatmania', 'Mambo A Go-Go', 'Guitar Freaks', 'Para Para Paradise', 'Percussion Freaks'...  
  
'Oh, I can't believe this. This isn't a place to do investigative undercover work, it's a electronic playground built to mock me.' Kitty sighed. She looked around, not much of anyone was around, let alone breakdancers. 'He said stay around for at least two hours, then move on to the next place. I might as well play something...'  
  
---  
  
The car pulled up to a still active scene. A few cop cars parked outside of a small, quaint house. Pete turned off the convertable and climbed out, walking toward the action. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge, flashing it to the guards as they allowed him to pass.  
  
"Where's Detective Allen?" Pete asked a nearby officer.  
  
"In the back." The officer said.  
  
"Thanks, Mate." Pete went around the back, through a gate to the back yard of the house. He spotted the man in question. "Just who I was lookin' for."  
  
"Ah, Mr. Wisdom. What a pleasant surprise." The man known as Detective Allen said. He asked, "How're things?"  
  
"You know, same ol' same ol'..." Pete rubbed his jaw, "What's the deal here?"  
  
Detective Allen shook his head, "Only a day old."  
  
Pete nodded, looking around at it for any sort of clues. Same signs as the other places, nothing new.  
  
"Say Pete, where's that partner you brought in with you?" Allen spoke again.  
  
"Hmm? I've got her doing a little undercover investigatin'. She doesn't suspect a thing." Pete spoke low, "I don't expect that to last long. She's the one who pointed me to here."  
  
"You can't keep things going on a wild goose chase for too long, eventually you catch the goose." said the other Detective.  
  
"I'm workin' on it. 'Sides, you like the extra help, right?" Pete wondered.  
  
"We always love to have a few more bodies on a case. And we could always use a bright mind like yours on the force." The detective smiled.  
  
"Thanks but no thanks. I'm just returnin' a favor." Pete walked off to the side, lighting a cigarette.  
  
"Well, it was worth a try."  
  
"I like being a bit o'a free agent anyway." Pete chuckled.  
  
"We noticed." The detective stood up and approached Pete. "Call me later if your partner finds out something we don't know. This case just gets worse by the day with how many bodies keep turning up."  
  
Pete looked down, "D'you think I did the right thing?"  
  
"That's between you and your partner, now isn't it?"  
  
"That's not bloody encouraging." Pete glared at Detective Allen.  
  
"Maybe not, but if she's as smart as you say she is, she's bound to figure out something very soon. I'd watch your back if I were you."  
  
---  
  
'7:34' Kitty looked down at her watch, 'He said he'd be here in five minutes. That was twenty minutes ago!'  
  
She sat on the low wall, watching as traffic rushed by. 'I didn't get much today. That kid at the arcade was pretty helpful, but still didn't give me any leads. Just information.'  
  
"Excuse me." A young, male voice asked.  
  
"Hmm?" Kitty turned to look at the teenage boy. "Yes?"  
  
"What are you doing here?" He asked.  
  
"I'm waiting for my ride, what does it look like I'm doing?" Kitty looked annoyed.  
  
The boy narrowed his eyes. He changed his tone of voice, "That's not what I asked."  
  
Kitty picked up on this. Her senses putting her on alert as she got down from her seated position and stood, the boy between her and the street. "I'm sorry, I really am. I'll just stand on the corner..."  
  
He stepped toward her. "You've been asking a lot of the wrong questions."  
  
She stepped back. Her eyes narrowed. "Depends on how you look at it. I'm just curious."  
  
"You know the saying, curiosity killed the cat? I don't know who you are, but I've got a message for you." The boy clenched his fist.  
  
"And that is?" Kitty looked tense. She knew this had to be bad. 'Where the hell is Wisdom?'  
  
"You're too late. And now I have to make sure you don't talk."  
  
"What? What do you mean, too late?" Kitty blinked. Her eyes widened in panic with the sudden realization that she can't move, frozen in place.  
  
The boy glared, "You heard my warning. Now you'll feel it." He held out his hand at her.  
  
Suddenly a powerful invisible energy forced her back hard into the alley behind her like a strong punch, knocking into some boxes and metal trash cans in the fall. She winced, now able to move under the rubble. 'Stupid, stupid... must be telekinesis.' She regained her composure, phasing down beneath the ground. She moved back toward the street, then pulled herself up to the surface again, just past where the boy was standing - still looking toward the mess for her.  
  
"It might be in your best interest if you told me why I'm 'too late'?" Kitty quickly grabbed the boy, putting him unmovable martial arts hold.  
  
"How did you!? Where did you?!" He cried out.  
  
"You're not the only one with a few moves up your sleeve." Kitty put stress on his arm. "Now... I can break your arms and legs faster than you can scream out 'Help'. Do you want to tell me what you meant or do I have to test that theory?"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAH!" He whimpered, "No, please!" The boy looked terrified. "Why can't I move?"  
  
"That's a secret. Counting to five. Five... Four... Three..." Kitty brought back her hand, now formed in a fist.  
  
"L.A.! They went to Los Angeles!" He whimpered.  
  
"Who! Who are 'they'?!" Kitty kept her hold on him, not trusting to let him go.  
  
"Thomas! Aoyagi! Aaaah! Please stop, it hurts!" He cried.  
  
"What the bloody 'ell are you doin?" An older, male voice announced from the side.  
  
"He attacked me!" Kitty held onto the kid. "Is that it? Are there others?"  
  
"Three others... uhn... two boys and another girl... I don't know them! Oh God, just... stop!"  
  
She didn't let go. Pete stepped forward and put hand on her shoulder. "You're hurt. Let him go."  
  
Kitty narrowed her eyes, then let the pressure off of the arm. She spun the kid toward her then said, "Get out of here. You're out of your depth." She pushed him away. The kid stumbled and took off into a run. She winced, touching her head and finding a small wound.  
  
"What happened?" Pete asked, taking pulling a cloth out of his inner jacket pocket. He stepped over and started to help clean up her wound.  
  
"I already told you...!" Kitty fussed, she pushed his hand away. "It's not that bad."  
  
"You were sloppy, Pryde. You've lost yer edge." Pete held the hankerchief out to her.  
  
Kitty took it, holding it to her forehead. "You know what? Between the last year of my life and now, I can count on one hand the amount of 'dangerous situations' I have been in. Sod off."  
  
"I can't believe you've just..."  
  
"Just what?"  
  
"Nevermind. Get in the car, we're going back to the room." Pete fetched the keys from his pocket.  
  
"No, I want to know what you were going to say." Kitty followed, "I just... what?"  
  
"Let yourself go." He got into the car.   
  
"I haven't let myself go. I should have known better, but normally I don't expect fifteen year old boys to give me mental punches when I'm waiting for your sorry ass to show up and get me." She took her seat in the passenger side. "Did you find out anything today?"  
  
"I was held up in traffic. The Pryde I knew wouldn't have even let that kid get that close." He grumbled, starting the car and starting on the drive back. "And not much. Nothing we didn't already know."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. So again, with the guilt? So not your forte. I'm hardly the same person. Things do change." Kitty sighed, "I didn't sign on to get told who I should be. I got the information, one way or another. Just... ugh. Just whatever. I'm through with this."  
  
"Fine." Pete grumbled.  
  
"Fine."  
  
Pete let out a breath. He nodded, continuing the drive in silence.   
  
"What now?" She spoke finally.  
  
"Nothin'. Just thought you might want me to shut it for a little bit."  
  
"Nice thought, but..." Kitty closed her eyes, "It's okay. I'm sorry."  
  
"I'm the one who's sorry. Didn't mean t'yell. And you got hurt." Pete continued the drive, and said, "We can put what we have together, and then maybe just have a nice night out."  
  
"Night out... yeah, okay." She pulled the hankerchief back, putting it in her lap. "I dunno, Pete. Maybe tomorrow?"  
  
They finally arrived back at the hotel. He parked the car, looking back at Kitty. "Let's get inside and clean that cut up."  
  
She opened the door to the room, taking a seat on her bed. "Really, it's not that bad."  
  
Pete picked up a small first aid kit, opening it up and taking out some antiseptic and an adhesive bandage. "I'll be the judge of that." He set down the bandage on the bed next to her. He opened the antiseptic and poured it on a clean cloth. His free hand pushed her hair back, the other carefully cleaning the wound.  
  
Kitty winced, closing her eyes. "I feel like an idiot." She bit back her words before saying, "You were right. I am better than that. My guard was down when it really shouldn't have... especially on a case like this." She touched his hand that held back her hair. Her eyes opened and shifted up to him as he continued to gentlely patch her up.  
  
He blew softly over the now cleaned wound. She furrowed her brow at the different stinging sensation. Pete reached down and picked up the bandage, taking it out of it's package and placing it over the sore. "Just a scratch. And I know you are, Pryde."  
  
"What, an idiot?" Kitty almost sounded annoyed, letting go of his hand and looking down into her lap.  
  
"No, that you are better than that." Pete sat down next to her. He admitted, "Don't make me go about worryin' over you."  
  
Kitty half-smiled. "You don't need to do that."  
  
"I don't, but sometimes I just do." He broke up the tender moment with a change of subject, "You want me to order in for some pizza?"  
  
"Sounds good. In the meantime, I'll compile what I got today and then we can discuss our next course of action." Kitty got up and went to the desk, opening up her laptop.  
  
"You just know how to sweet talk me, don't you?" Pete smiled, fetching a telephone book and dialing out to a pizza place.  
  
"Don't I know it." She smiled as she started to type away, quieting down as Pete placed the order for food.  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	9. Chapter 9

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 9  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"You're tellin' me they're not even in Las Vegas anymore?" Pete sounded annoyed, taking a bite of his pizza slice.  
  
"That's what my little assassin said. Said they took off to Los Angeles. There's five of them." Kitty sat down on the bed beside Pete, munching on her own slice.  
  
"Just peachy." Pete looked troubled.  
  
Kitty looked concerned, "Something's wrong?"  
  
"I have to call someone." Pete got up, putting his slice down on a plate.   
  
"But wait, I haven't told you everything. One of the girls from the group is the sister to some kid I talked to at the arcade. They were visiting from Japan when her mutant powers manifested. She freaked out and ran off, joining up with this group while her parents are still trying to work with the police and government to find her." Kitty finished the slice, taking a drink of water. "The poor guy could barely speak any English. I think he said he was a mutant, too, but his powers were below the radar and not as--"  
  
"Doesn't matter. She's obviously not the mastermind behind all this. It's one of the other unnamed three." He actually looked upset, "Dammit!" Pete reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved his phone, "I'm stepping out for a minute. Be back." He headed to the door and went outside.  
  
Kitty looked confused, 'What was that all about? This is progress on the case. Something just isn't adding up, again. The question is... should I follow him outside and eavesdrop or should I trust... who am I kidding?' Kitty climbed off the bed quickly and went to the door, pressing her ear up against it to hear anything immediately outside. She the triggered her ability to slowly phase through the door to peek outside and look where Pete was. Kitty ducked back in, then went to a safer exit point, phasing through that side wall and listened to the conversation from around the corner, at least, as much as she could hear of it.  
  
"---don't bloody care. Los Angeles is definitely out of both our juristictions, mate. You can do whatever you want." Pete's voice paused. "Yes. I know. That's somethin' I'll have to deal with tomorrow. S'bound to come up sooner or later, the bird has nothin' t'do w'me. It's not my business. Maybe YOU should ask her." He sounded annoyed, walking closer to the wall Kitty was leaning against.   
  
She took in a breath. Ready to phase back into the room at any point, but then he stopped walking and stood nearby, still talking on the phone.  
  
"You don't understand m'situation at all. Of course I care about her, I wouldn't've asked her to come along unless I had a damn good reason to. You wouldn't believe me if I told ya, anyway. Fine, call me tomorrow if you can extend our juristiction, but otherwise I think we're done with this case. Now I get to find other things to occupy our time. Very funny, mate. Y'might as well write 'Here lies the bloody beaten corpse of Pete Wisdom.' I'm not looking forward telling her the truth. Ye of little knowledge, Pryde is not one to have as an enemy. Dangerous is putting it lightly. But that doesn't..." Pete paused, caught up in a moment with an obvious bout of emotion, "... sorry. Maybe I'm basing this all off the girl I once knew. Fact is, she's changed, and that's why'm so damn worried. A'right. Take care. Well, just give me a ring when you know about L.A. The longer we can keep this charade goin', the better this is for everyone involved. G'night."  
  
Kitty let his words sink in. What did he mean? No time to dwell, she phased backwards, into the room to quickly retake her seat on the bed and picking up the remote to the television. 'This isn't about the case at all, it's actually about keeping me busy. For what, though? And why would Pete care? Too many questions, and I know full well he won't outright tell me.' She glanced at the clock. It was after ten at night. 'Well, he did say he wanted to go out... maybe I'll have a sudden change of heart.'  
  
The hotel door opened as Pete stepped back in. "Good news is we get a break."  
  
"Good to know." Kitty idly flipped through the stations, then turned to Pete, "Hey, you know what? I'm feeling a lot better. You said you wanted to go out? Did you have somewhere in mind?"  
  
Pete blinked, caught off guard. "Y'want to go out?"  
  
"Sure, why not?"  
  
He seemed stunned, "Suppose we can hit up the Ghost Bar. I hear it's nice there."  
  
"Sounds like a plan. We should call a taxi, I don't wanna drive and I doubt you will either. I don't think there's a way to drunk-proof a Miata. What should I wear?" Kitty went over to her bag, unzipping it and shuffling through it.  
  
"Planning on picking up a fella?" Pete joked.  
  
"Maaaaaaaaaaaaybe." Kitty smirked, "Do they have a dress code? It's not a nightclub, is it?"  
  
"More like a lounge." Pete commented.  
  
"Can we dance?" Kitty wondered.  
  
"I'm sure it's not completely against the rules." Pete glanced at his bag, "Should I change?"  
  
"... your choice. I'm going to try to not look like a bartender, myself. Do you even own anything other than white button up shirts and black slacks?"  
  
"You insultin' my wardrobe again?"  
  
"Was just curious if you were going to be dressed to the nines... or like a secret agent, that's all." Kitty pulled out and sorted some clothes. She picked out an outfit and headed to the bathroom. "I'll get changed, then. Perhaps if you brought something other than suits, you can coordinate with what I come up with, hmm?"  
  
Pete shook his head and chuckled as she closed the door. He went into his bag, pulling out the few pieces of clothing that were different. A dark sweater, a black button up shirt, and a grey long sleeved shirt. He rubbed his chin as he looked over his choices before he felt a body press into him from behind. "...what the devil? Pryde!"  
  
Kitty laughed putting her hands on his shoulders. "Tense much? Oh God, is that all you have? I seriously need to take you shopping someday."  
  
"That's what you said last time." Pete shrugged and waved a hand at the few pieces of clothing. "And all I got are me black slacks. What'll you force me into?"  
  
Kitty let go of Pete and hummed to herself, stepping aside to look. "Grey shirt with the button up over it, but don't button it. Keep it loose." She nudged him forward before stepping back over toward the bathroom to check herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a tight pair of black pants, a low cut blue top with a black fashionable jacket. She idly fussed with her hair as Pete protested in the backround, dressing in what she told him to change into. She brushed her hair back, glancing at Pete as he tucked in the grey shirt, leaving the black over-shirt untucked. Kitty stepped over and started to button up the bottom buttons.  
  
"What're you doin?"  
  
"Experimenting." She made eye contact, "Does it bother you?"  
  
"No." Pete tried to sound annoyed.  
  
Kitty reached up and straightened out his collar. 'Must keep focused, the plan is to get him obnoxiously drunk and spill about what this is really all about.'  
  
"Y'look nice." Pete noticed.  
  
"Thanks. Surprisingly, so do you." Kitty stepped away, observing him.  
  
"I know how to take a compliment when I'm given one." Pete smirked and offered an arm. "So, ready to paint the town red?"  
  
"Damn straight." She took his arm and headed to the door, her own personal mission in mind.  
  
---  
  
"Hey Mitch... I need another scotch and... uh... something blue." Kitty said to the bartender.  
  
"Something blue? You're real specific there, Kit." The man identified as Mitch said.  
  
"I'm getting less picky as the night goes on." Kitty waved a hand. "How about a 'Blue Motorcycle' if you must have something particular."  
  
"How's the drinking contest going?"  
  
"He's ahead. That's a good thing, actually." She smirked. "Right now I'm somewhere in that warm and fuzzy stage."  
  
"That's the best stage." He laughed and passed her the two drinks.  
  
"No kidding." She pulled out some bills and handed them to him. "I still can't believe how expensive drinks are out here."  
  
"Different environment, hun. You'll have to tell me about your bar sometime before you leave." Mitch smiled.  
  
"If I remember. Thanks again!" Kitty carefully carried the two drinks across the floor and out to the balcony where Pete was standing. She held out the shot glass to him. "Your poison of choice, good sir."  
  
"Thought I told you never to call me 'sir'." Pete took the glass. "This view is gorgeous."  
  
"Hmm? Force of habit, sorry." Kitty turned her attention from Pete to the lights of the Las Vegas strip. "Definitely a city of lights."  
  
Pete easily downed the shot. He held onto the empty glass without much thought. "Having fun chatting up the bartender?"  
  
"He's from Northbrook - we had a bonding moment over the Cubs and bartending. Something I've learned in the past twenty four hours - apparently no one is actually from here, they're all transplants." Kitty nudged Pete, "Soooooooomeone's jealous."  
  
"Not likely." Pete scoffed. "Just seems kinda wrong, bloke comes in with a lady and someone is already movin' in on her. They got rules against that somewhere."  
  
Kitty shook her head, "He's been a perfect gentleman, Pete. That's like the first thing you learn - make a connection. Sometimes you're not just a bartender, but you're also their marriage counsellor, their therapist, their best friend. It's good for business, and really good for tips. He's just doing his job." She nudged Pete again, "So how're you feeling?"  
  
"I might be able to walk a straight line." Pete lightened up a bit.  
  
"Sounds like you're on your way to full out drunken goodness." Kitty sipped her drink. "Want a taste of this?"  
  
"Looks like a fu-fu drink for girls." He waved a hand, "I'll go get something else from the bar."  
  
"'Kay." Kitty took in a deep breath. She knew she had to gain a little confidence to breach the subject. It was the right time, it's just a matter of hitting the right stride of conversation. So far all they've talked about was what she's been through these last few months and a few vague updates on mutual friends. After her fifth drink, she started to feel the effects of the alcohol in her system. There was no way she could keep up with Wisdom, but at least when she kept offering to go get drinks from the bar, he was quite willing to continue to drink.  
  
"Oi, Mate. Get me a Kamikaze." Pete said to the bartender.  
  
"Sure thing. Say, that girl of yours is quite sharp." Mitch said to Pete as he mixed the drink.  
  
"Oh Kitty? She and I go way back. Met overseas through work." Pete leaned on the bar, "Let me tell ya, the United Kingdom was a much nicer place when she was around."  
  
"I can only imagine." Mitch passed the drink to Pete. "You're a lucky guy."  
  
"Was, Mate. Was." Pete nodded and paid the bartender. "Cheers." He headed back over to the balcony where Kitty waited. "You haven't even made any progress. How're you going to catch up at this rate?"  
  
"Catch up? That's sooo not going to happen. I'm already pretty buzzed. I don't want to get sick. Unlike you, I haven't built up a huge tolerance." Kitty rolled her eyes, then quieted down as she thought about how to approach the subject.  
  
Pete noticed the silence, "Wot's wrong?"  
  
"Pete... uhm... the case..." Kitty started.  
  
"Wot about it? We'll find out tomorrow what we can do." Pete took a sip of his drink.  
  
She looked over and made eye contact. "I'm not talking about that. Okay, look... the clues just don't match up."  
  
"Clues? About?" Pete wondered.  
  
"You, for example." Kitty didn't break her gaze, "The Thomas girl isn't really your cousin, is she?"  
  
An expression of pure guilt washed over Pete's face. He was caught. "...took a day and a half for you. You're quick as ever, Pryde."  
  
"...that's just the tip of the iceberg, isn't it Pete? Why the hell would you fly me all the way to practically the West Coast? What is this about?!" Kitty grew angry. "I could so kick your ass if you..."  
  
"Your voice just got loud..." Pete let out an exasperated sigh, "Look, there's a perfectly good reason for all this. It wasn't meant to dupe you."  
  
"Then what is it, Pete? Just spill it already." She poked him with her finger agressively.  
  
"Bloody hell, couldn't you've brought this up at a better time?" Pete quickly finished his drink and had a pregnant pause in his statement. He matched her gaze and said in a thin voice. "You're in danger in Chicago. If I didn't get you out... you were to be killed."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	10. Chapter 10

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 10  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Kitty blinked. She found her knees weaken under her as she cleared her throat and replied, "Excuse me? Pete... how? Why? Who? I need to sit down."  
  
Pete steadied Kitty by taking her arm and stepping back into the main lounge area, finding some free seats. He helped her sit down, also sitting down right next to her. "Told you this wasn't the place t'talk about it."  
  
She put her drink down. "God, Pete... how long were you going to keep this from me? I can't be watched over forever, I have to go home at some time."  
  
"I know. I was hopin' to keep you away long enough." Pete rubbed her left shoulder softly. "I could always go back with you."  
  
"What good is that going to do? Pete..." Kitty looked sick, "What, is it Purity? Where did you hear this?"  
  
Pete looked a little uneasy. "Really not a place to talk 'bout it. Let's head back to the hotel." He gestured, standing.   
  
Kitty stood and walked with Pete to the hall. She stopped and shook her head, "No, Pete. Here and now." She looked around and took his hand, pulling him through some swinging doors and into a kitchen area.  
  
"Uh... you can't be in here." Said a girl in a tight, silver outfit.   
  
Pete pulled out his badge and flashed it to the girl. "It's okay, we're with the police. This won't take long. Can you give us a few minutes privacy?"  
  
The girl nodded and stepped out, leaving the kitchen area empty.  
  
Kitty waited until the girl stepped out before she asked Pete again, "How do you know this?"  
  
Pete shoved his hands in his pockets, "... Dammit, Pryde... let me get my bearings." He stammered, "Bout a year back I found this book. Thought nothing of it, was told it was something important like. Didn't get 'round to reading through it all right away. Then something caught my eye. Your name."  
  
"What kind of book is this?" Kitty leaned against the middle table-island, crossing her arms and staring at Pete.  
  
"Seemed like a bunch of jibberish, if y'ask me." Pete sounded honest, almost sober. "Words were sometimes written over each other, or scribbled through. Like it was incoherant, yet it all started to make bloody sense when I began recognizing names and events."  
  
Kitty blinked in realization and then said, "... you mean you found one of Destiny's diaries?"  
  
"Is that what they call them?" Pete wondered. "In it talked about you. Something that's going to happen.. damned if it wasn't vague. Pointed to something in Chicago. Something very soon. Something you couldn't take. Just surprised me. Thought I could..."  
  
"You could have told me. You could have called instead of going through this elaborate scheme. Seriously." Kitty looked up, "Do you know that the diaries... they're not exactly one hundred percent true? Like, they're a vision of a future that Destiny saw, but can be changed at any given time, with any given circumstance?"  
  
"Why d'you think I did this?" He waved his hands.  
  
"Pete! If everything that Destiny had forseen happened, we wouldn't be here right now! No. Do you know that when I was thirteen, she along with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants tried to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly? I don't remember a damn thing about it because I was time displaced. Can you believe that? If they were successful... the future..." Kitty shook her head, "But my future self changed that."  
  
"Y'don't believe me." Pete looked annoyed.  
  
"It's not that I don't believe you, it's that THINGS change. Ororo, Rogue... their whole group recently had been trying to find all of Destiny's diaries, but ended up preventing one of the outcomes. The future isn't set, Pete." She rubbed her eyes. "If it was all about what was predicted, I'd be married to Piotr and in an entirely different future. Hell, I wouldn't have even met you! Do you realize that?"  
  
Pete looked upset, "I read about your death!"  
  
"Yeah, I know! Welcome to MY life! I've been dealing with this crap since I was thirteen!" Kitty's voice raised again, "Who are you to think you could just meddle and work your magic to make things better?!"  
  
"Someone who cares! Not that you would see that, you're too bleedin' caught up on tryin' to prove me wrong!" Pete growled.  
  
"Because you ARE wrong in this case! You didn't need to keep it a secret from me!" Kitty pushed herself off of the table and got into Pete's face.  
  
Pete replied, almost as angry. "Because this is exactly how you'd react! 'Nice call out of the blue, Pete. Doing jolly good, don't need your warnin'. You're paranoid, I can take care of myself.' Bollocks."  
  
"I can, HAVE, and I will." She grumbled and held her hand in front of his face. "That's it, I'm out of here."  
  
He snagged her arm, "Don't you dare walk out of here on me, Pryde!"  
  
Kitty stopped. She whipped around to face him, "Or what? What are you going to do about it, Wisdom? Gonna yell at me some more?"  
  
"No! That's not the point of this! It's not about me being right or wrong. I damn well wish I'm wrong, I just don't want you dead." Pete let out a sharp breath.  
  
"... what... like you let me believe YOU were?" Her voice caught in her throat from emotion. Kitty used her free hand to wipe away a stray tear.  
  
Pete didn't speak. It sunk in how much the disappearing act really hurt her. He pulled her into a gentle hug, letting her rest her head against his shoulder. Kitty wrapped her arms around him in return. He finally broke the silence, "Pryde... Kitty... I'm sorry. I never thought..." His voice trailed off.  
  
"Shhh..." Kitty pressed her finger against his lips. "I know."  
  
"Y'changed me. Sometimes I get to thinkin'..." Pete started.  
  
Kitty whispered, "I said 'shush'." She tilted head and removed the gap between them with a kiss.  
  
Pete closed his eyes, returning it affectionately. He pulled away and gasped. "No... Kitty. We're drunk. We should go."  
  
"...yeah. I know." Kitty pulled away from Pete, stepping toward the door to leave. Pete followed behind, his hand reaching down to take hers still. They turned down the hall and waited for the elevator to leave. Kitty leaned in and hugged Pete again.   
  
He let out a tiny sigh. His heart ached at the close contact. The taste of her drink still on his lips. The elevator arrived and the security guard gestured for them to go in. He nudged Kitty to get her attention, as she turned and stepped into the enclosed space with Pete in tow. The door shut behind them after the security guard pressed the bottom button and stepped back out.  
  
"Your heart is beating really fast." Kitty commented.  
  
"Good argument always gets the blood pumping." He looked at her, unsure.  
  
She glanced around, noticing they were alone. She spoke up, "Pete... I didn't mean to... that was out of line."  
  
"Which part?" Pete asked, although he knew full well what she meant.  
  
"A little bit of the yelling. A little bit of the kissing." Kitty seemed embarassed.  
  
Pete smiled and pushed her hair back, "Is that a blush I see? It's not like we haven't kissed before."  
  
"And then some." Kitty managed to laugh. Her eyes shyly looked up at Pete.   
  
His hand moved down along Kitty's chin line. He moved forward and kissed her again. Pete pushed her into the side of the elevator. Kitty's arms wrapped around his neck, returning it with an equal passion. The doors opened. Pete pulled away, short of breath, he kept an arm around her as they walked out of the elevator and down the hallway to the main casino area. "... where do we catch a cab in this joint?"  
  
"... to the right. Right near the reservations." Kitty spoke softly, a little shaken up. "Same as the valet area."  
  
"Oh... right." Pete guided his way through the crowd with Kitty, going through the glass doors to the valet area to stand in the taxi line. He looked down at her, "What're we doin'?"  
  
Kitty locked eyes with his. "What comes natural?"  
  
They moved through the line quickly, a taxi door opening for them. They got in, Pete giving the instructions on where to go. He whispered to Kitty, "Is that wise?"  
  
"Would it surprise you if I said I didn't care?" She tugged at his shirt playfully.  
  
"Y'seemed to care last night." Pete almost sounded a little bitter.  
  
Kitty let go of the shirt and scooted away, "Oh... it wasn't like that." She looked out the window as the cab made a turn. "Okay. I get it. I'm sorry."  
  
"Now don't you go apologizin'." Pete slid over closer, "That's my job. What're we playin' at here?"  
  
"Nothing at all." Kitty shrugged, looking back at Pete. "Now I'm feeling a little stupid and entirely way too self conscious. Just that you said... and I misunderstood."  
  
Pete gulped and murmured, "You shouldn't. You didn't." His hand slipped down to her side, pulling her a little closer as he kissed her again.  
  
"...Pete .. mn... we're here." She gave a nervous glance to the driver.  
  
He pulled out a few bills and handed them to the driver, exiting the cab with Kitty following. Pete retrieved his room key and opened the door after a few tries, "Damned coordination."  
  
Kitty giggled. "And you're the one with more practice at this." She closed the door behind them.   
  
Pete sat down on his bed, pulling his overshirt off. "Practice? I wing it."  
  
"Experience, I meant." She smirked, pushing him playfully.  
  
"Is that so?" Pete stopped her from walking further away, putting his hands at her hips and pulling her to stand in front of him.  
  
"Pete..." Kitty hesitated. Her hands rested on his shoulders, knees touching to his in this seated position.   
  
"Yes, Kitty?" His hand slipped down, giving a gentle pressure on her legs to slip onto the bed with him. She brought her knees up to either side of him, straddling his lap. He helped Kitty take her jacket off then wrapped his arms around her.  
  
Kitty's face was only inches from his. She whispered, "...Oh Pete... this is a really bad idea."  
  
"I know." His lips found hers in another tempting kiss. Pete managed to ask, "... do you want to stop?"  
  
"No, I don't." Kitty slowly ran her fingertips through back of his hair, "Do you?"  
  
Pete reached over and shut off the remaining room light. He whispered between kisses, "God no."  
  
"Good.."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	11. Chapter 11

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
Thanks for the continued support on this fic. All five of you.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 11  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The early morning light crept into the afternoon on this Monday day. Wisdom instinctively stretched his arms as he felt consciousness nip at him. Even half-awake it dawned on him that he was not alone in the bed. Pete's eyes opened to observe the sleeping figure of Katherine Pryde curled up against him. His friend. His partner. His ex-girlfriend.  
  
-Ring- -Ring- -Ring-  
  
"...ugh... dammit Pete, answer your phone already..." Kitty mumbled against him.  
  
He slipped away from her, reaching over to the chair to grab his jacket and retrieve his phone. "'Ello?" Pete spoke softly, "Yeah mate, just woke. Hm? Tonight? That's great... but we worked things out if you don't need us. It's really all your choice. Sure, we'd still be able to... right. That is peculiar. Ring me up later and we'll meet up. Bye." He set the phone down on the nightstand, settling back down in a laying down position. Pete took a deep breath, then asked. "You awake?"  
  
"I am now." Kitty opened her eyes and yawned, "Not the first time today, either. Who was that?"  
  
"My friend with the police department. He's trying to get us extended juristiction to take care of that case over in Los Angeles now." Pete propped up his pillow against the headboard, sitting up. "How'd you sleep?"  
  
"I slept well, Pete." Kitty sat up, looking him over. "...how about you?"  
  
"Best I've slept in years." Pete took her hand and gave a soft squeeze.  
  
Kitty frowned, "Pete... we can't..."  
  
"Can't what?"  
  
"Nothing's going to change." She clarified. "From how things were yesterday, or the day before that. It's just not." Kitty looked down at their hands. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this."  
  
"We can never go back. I know." Pete smiled with a hint of sadness. "With that said and out in the air, last night was incredible."  
  
"Pete!" She nudged him, scooting over to sit next to him.  
  
"I'm serious! With all the crudeness about it, it always meant more when it's with someone you care about." Pete shrugged, "'m just bein' honest."  
  
"Not just a typical one night stand." Kitty rolled her eyes. "Gotcha."  
  
He reached over and pushed her hair back, away from her face. Pete leaned over, stealing a quick kiss.  
  
Kitty pulled back. "H..hey."  
  
"Can't we indulge?" He asked. His thumb brushed across her cheek lovingly.  
  
"Maybe... I don't know." She felt a bit guilty. "I don't want to give you the wrong impression. You do remember why we broke up, right?"  
  
"Something about you fancying a younger fella and that me being ancient was makin' you grow up too fast."  
  
She nodded at his words. They stung a little. "More or less."  
  
"Was there somethin' else I missed? Look, Pryde..." Pete said softly, "I think back to us, and I don't regret a damn thing about it." He paused, "No, that's a bit of a lie. I found something in you... something in us that was amazing. I didn't stop t'think 'She's barely legal.', because you didn't bleedin' act like girls your age and the all important factor, you actually wanted to be with me. I wished that we'd have paced ourselves better... slower... with a lot more communication."  
  
"Don't regret any of that, please." Kitty told him, "Because as much as I'd like to accept and move on, I still have a soft spot in my heart for you. I can't resent you, because it was a choice I made as well. If I knew better, I sure didn't want to." She remembered, "Our feelings were pretty strong all around... I'm surprised we didn't kill each other before we finally slept together."  
  
"Oh yeah, you HATED me. Stranded in Genosha for weeks at the time somewhat bit." Pete recalled.  
  
Kitty's expression changed.  
  
"...what'd I say now?" Pete noticed.  
  
"Nothing, Pete. Just touched a sore spot." She looked down.  
  
"What, that you used t'hate me?" He blinked, "Seriously, what's wrong?" He asked, honestly concerned.  
  
"Genosha... just that... my Dad was there when..." Kitty shook her head, "I've been working through it, but the wound is still fresh. It's like.. I hadn't seen him for years then out of the blue I get a message and he's there... then... NO ONE is there."  
  
Pete felt a familiar ache. He's lost a parent. It's something that's tough to deal with at any age. He wondered if she had someone to be there for her when it happened, or when she found out. He doesn't even think twice, his arms pull her into a comforting hug. He whispered, "I'm sorry, luv. Lord knows I know what you're going through."  
  
She sighed and returned the hug. A few moments of quiet was all she needed, "S'okay. Really. Doug, Illyana, Piotr... then my Dad. It's no wonder why I left the life, huh?"   
  
"You were going to say me, weren't you?" Pete wondered.  
  
"Yeah. You were one of the reasons. Piotr was just the final straw. No more of that." She shook her head. Kitty pulled away and said softly, "Thanks. Time to shower."  
  
"Of course. Can't stay in bed all day, no matter how fun it is." Pete raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "Or can we?"  
  
"We can't." Kitty playfully nudged, climbing out of bed and going over to get a change of clothes from her bag. "Already slept half the day away."  
  
"Better'n being hungover." Pete noted. He begrudgingly got out of bed and started to put together an outfit.  
  
"No kidding." She looked back at Pete. "... so, are we on the same page?"  
  
"If that's how you want things to be." He nodded. "I'm fine, Pryde. Falling for you a second time around is too dangerous for my tastes."  
  
"'Dangerous'? Now you've got me intrigued." Kitty wondered, leaning on the door frame outside of the bathroom.   
  
"As in, I don't think I could handle getting my heart broken twice by you." Pete nodded. There was quite a bit of truth in that statement.  
  
Kitty nodded, turning to step into the bathroom. "And just so we're clear, it was mutual. It wasn't just you who had to mend a broken heart. Just that I had unresolved guilt along with it. The more you know, huh?"  
  
"Me too, Pryde. Me too. Yours was about figuring what you really wanted in life and that you hurt me, while mine was how I thought I bodged up yours even though for once in my life I was happy. Maybe we deserved each other."  
  
"Maybe." Kitty lingered in place, before she finally turned away from Pete's gaze and stepped into the bathroom to take her shower.  
  
---  
  
Pete glanced at his watch. It's been thirty minutes. 'How much time does she need in there?' He walked over to the door and knocked, "Oi, Pryde. You'll use up all the hot water." He leaned close, listening through it. "Pryde? Did you fall asleep?" He knocked again. "Blast it... you know having your abilities would be mighty helpful in this case! Respond or I'm bustin' this door down! Kitty?" He stepped back, placing his left hand against the door, his right hand pulling back, ready to trigger his ability. Pete reached down and tested the handle to discover it was unlocked. He carefully opened the door, sticking his head in, "... Kitty?" He noticed her sitting faced away from him, fully clothed, on the floor next to the tub. "Are you deaf? I've been callin' for you... you ain't sick, are you?"  
  
Kitty waved a hand in Pete's direction. "I'm fine. Just... give me a few minutes."  
  
Pete looked very concerned. He sat behind her, putting a hand on her back, "Pryde... what's going on?"  
  
"Oh Pete..." She turned and looked at him. She looked as though she had been crying. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"What in the... I don't like seeing girls cry. Stop that! There's nothin' to be sorry about." Pete looked at a loss.   
  
She let out a nervous laugh. Kitty moved herself to sit next to him, "Of all the times... maybe I'm still drunk? No."  
  
"I don't follow." He studied her face.   
  
Kitty reached over and grabbed a small wad of toilet paper, attempting to dry her eyes. "You're going to laugh."  
  
"I'm not laughing. I'm watching you cry on our bathroom floor without any reason to." Pete put an arm around her shoulders.  
  
Kitty made a face, "That's not helping me." She turned to look at him. "Okay, so I was in here... thinking about what we just talked about. And there's this moment where I reflected on things that have all happened in my life and I had this sudden, horrible realization that I had done to you almost exactly what Piotr had done to me. Well, not exactly. But similarities enough..." She covered her eyes, "And all I could think about was how..." She paused, then said. "Piotr wasn't a horrible person. I know that. It's not romanticizing the situation in any way, but he hurt me so bad I couldn't even be around. I went away so he wouldn't get to see that. So he wouldn't see how much he hurt me. Fast forward a few years and I have this epiphany. You deserved better, cause that was just the most miserable feeling... like my heart ripped in two--"  
  
"Kitty." Pete interrupted.  
  
"... and there was nothing I could do about it. What?"  
  
"I'm not you. Levels, experience... you can't compare them." Pete nodded, "It hurt, and I left. The ball was in my court and I dropped it. I thought about how I should've handled it differently. Doesn't mean I could win you back or change your feelings. That was the hardest part about leavin', knowing that I was giving up on the one damned honest thing I thought I had goin' for me."  
  
"I know you're not me. Told you... it was stupid. And yet the tears keep rolling.."  
  
Pete reached over and turned her face to look at him. He kissed her again. She calmed at his touch. He whispered softly. "I forgive you."  
  
Kitty half-smiled, then replied, "I thought this wasn't about reconcilliation?"  
  
"Change of plans." Pete moved from his seated position, taking a washcloth and wetting it down in the sink. He kneeled down next to Kitty, offering it to her.  
  
She wiped her face down, "Yeah, huh." Kitty said warmly, "I'm glad."  
  
"Me too." Pete stood. "I need a smoke." He leaned against the doorframe, "Or do you..?"  
  
Kitty stood, "Need a smoke? No. I'm fine."  
  
"Not what I meant."  
  
She looked him over and said, "I know."  
  
Pete nodded and walked away from the bathroom, toward the front door. Kitty hesitated, then caught up to hug Pete tightly from behind.  
  
"Oof! Pryde.." Pete stopped walking.  
  
She pressed her forehead against his back, saying softly. "...I don't know if you realize it, but that meant a lot."  
  
He turned around in her arms to face her. "To be forgiven?"  
  
"Yeah." Kitty smiled up at him.  
  
Pete let out a tense sigh. He whispered, "I really... really need t'smoke." He moved away from her briefly, then tugged at her arm and pulled her forcefully toward him in a tight embrace. She looked caught offguard, eyes wide open as he pressed his lips to hers.  
  
"Pete--!" She stammered between breaths.  
  
"My turn t'tell you shush." His hands moved down her sides, pushing her to fall on her back, onto the bed behind her. Pete continued to kiss, settling down onto the bed atop her.  
  
She broke the kiss and whispered, "As long as we're clear, this is purely physical, right?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Okay then."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	12. Chapter 12

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 12  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A light breeze flowed through Kitty's loose hair. She sat propped up on a short wall, her hand idly twirled a small silver box of cigarettes labelled 'Lambert & Butler'. She looked down at the box, 'What am I doing? Once, sure... we were drunk. Twice? Good job, Pryde. I'm hopeless.' She sighed, turning the box upside down and slightly tapping the top into her palm.  
  
"There you are. What're you doin' with my cigs?" Pete asked as he stepped into the parking lot.  
  
"Packing them." Kitty tossed the box at him. "Figured you'd find me, seeing as I wasn't in the room. I know you wanted to smoke, and I could use the fresh air. Still kinda dealing with the whole 'I'm supposed to die' thing."  
  
"Not gonna happen now that you've got me around." Pete playfully touched the top of her head, leaning against the wall next to her.  
  
Kitty frowned and started. "Wisdom... actually... we've gotta talk about that."  
  
"What about it?" He opened the box and pulled out a cigarette.  
  
She stretched, "Yeah, it's nice that you've taken an active role in my life once again... but I don't think we can do this."  
  
"Wot now?" Pete lit it and looked at her, confused.  
  
"I'm going to have to say no."  
  
"No?" Pete took a drag off the cigarette, letting out a breath of smoke, "What're you saying no to?"  
  
Kitty looked at Pete, "I'm saying 'No' to being babysat. I'm saying 'Thank you' for your concern, but I really do think---"  
  
"This is exactly what'm talking about. You think you can handle it yourself, don'tcha?" He scratched the back of his head, "You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"  
  
"That's rather dramatic." Kitty smacked Pete in the arm, "And I'll HAVE to handle it myself."  
  
"Like you handled the FBI?"  
  
"My lawyer certainly did. Not to mention the collective smackdown on a packload of sentinals. I'm no slouch or pushover, Pete. I'm not exactly at the top of my game, but that's just life." She sighed and said gently, "I know you really do care. You've showed enough of that in the past twenty four hours..."  
  
Pete looked down, "Dammit, Pryde. I don't want to let you go back to Chicago alone. What if it's right?"  
  
"What if it's wrong? And hey, since I know about it - that means I have the power to change it."  
  
"You're too damned stubborn for your own good. D'yknow that?"  
  
Kitty laughed, "Yeah. Sure am." She let out a sigh. "You're just gonna have to cope, even if it means having a little faith in me. Can you do that?"  
  
"...sure, Kitty. I can do that." Pete finished his cigarette, though he seemed upset at this bit of revelation. "Why won't y'let me take an extra precaution?"  
  
"Because I can. Because I'm an adult. You'll just have to accept my decision and judgement on the situation at hand." Kitty smiled and hopped off the wall to walk back to the hotel room. "So this is it?"  
  
"Wot's that mean?" Pete wondered.  
  
"That's really the only reason I'm here, right?" Kitty turned to look at Pete. "As fun as this has been, I should get back to Chicago for work and school."  
  
"Y'got a week off. Can't take a break?" Pete sat down on the edge of his bed.  
  
"...Pete..." She paused, then said, "I'm afraid that---"  
  
Pete raised his hand, "Say no more. Don't have a reason to stick around, got it."  
  
"It's not that." Kitty sat down on her bed and looked at Pete. "You're angry."  
  
"Not angry."  
  
"Are too." She moved over to sit next to him and playfully nudged.  
  
"Despite personal feelings and other circumstances notwithstanding, we're actually on an incomplete police investigation here."  
  
"Ah, yes..."  
  
"It IS real." He sounded annoyed. "And I wouldn't want anyone else by my side other than you."  
  
Kitty rolled her eyes, "Flatterer. You're doing fine on your own."  
  
"Fine, sure. But not quickly. Not like it would kill you to hang around for another day or two."  
  
"It wouldn't." Kitty then asked, "Is THAT wise, though? We've been a bit... unprofessional, to say the least."  
  
"Is that why you're so anxious to bail out on me? Don't worry your pretty little head, that boat sailed a long time ago."  
  
"So you're saying you don't... didn't feel anything..." She couldn't quite finish her sentence.  
  
"I'm not saying that." Pete sounded frustrated, "But I'm fine with the guidelines that we've established fer ourselves. If you're okay too? Then fantastic."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"To paraphrase... I'm an adult, Pryde. I can deal with whatever you dish out. Any demons we had b'tween us went away when I stepped into your bar in Chicago. Don't keep questioning things. We've got something that works for us."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose you're right."  
  
"I almost never hear that sentence." Pete laughed.   
  
Kitty laughed as well. "There's always a first time for everything. Okay so... anyways, the case?"  
  
---  
  
The crowds moved around the center aquarium at this corner of the Caesars Palace Forum Shops. Kitty sat down, facing it as the fish swam by in the oversized tank. She glanced down at her watch, "6:37pm". 'Wisdom said to meet here at six thirty. I bet he got caught up in gambling. Great.' She thought to herself. Kitty pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.  
  
"Xavier Institute for Higher Learning." answered a female voice on the other end.  
  
"Yes, is Kurt Wagner around?" She mentally reminded herself that it's a full out school again.  
  
"I think I just saw him. Can I ask who's calling?" Asked the voice.  
  
"Kitty." She answered, watching a fish swim by with some interest.  
  
"Pryde?! Oh my gosh! Long time no speak!" The girl reacted.   
  
Kitty attempted to place the voice, "Uhm... I'm sorry, I can't place the voice?"  
  
"It's Paige Guthrie. Sam's little sister. I remember you, weren't you the smart girl, like a brainiac?" Paige laughed.  
  
"Something like that." Kitty winced at the nickname. "Sorry to keep this short, but can I please talk to Kurt? I'm kinda in a rush."  
  
"Sure. Hold on." The phone was muted. A few momemts pass before a voice comes on the line, "Hallo? Katzchen?"  
  
"Hey fuzzy. Guess where I am?" Kitty tried to sound lighthearted.  
  
"Not Laguardia airport, I hope?"  
  
"Not quite. Think... Elvis."  
  
"Give me another clue."  
  
"Casino chips." She hinted.  
  
"Mein Gott, Las Vegas? You're not doing anything hasty, are you?"  
  
Kitty managed to laugh, "No, Kurt. But you wouldn't believe who I'm with if you want to talk about hasty decisions..."  
  
"Who?" Kurt asked.  
  
-Beep-Beep-  
  
"Oh crap, hold on Kurt." She pulled the phone away and looked at the display. It's a number from Chicago. She put it back to her ear. "I've gotta go, home is calling me on the other line. I swear, I don't use the phone for hours and no one talks to me until I'm actually busy."  
  
"It's okay. You'll call back, ja?"  
  
"Sure Kurt. Give everyone my love, I suppose. Bye." Kitty pressed the button to take the new call. "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Kitty?" A male voice asked.  
  
"This is she."  
  
"Hey, It's Dylan."  
  
"What's up? Is something wrong?" Kitty wondered, concerned.  
  
"No, nothing bad. Just wanted to check up on you. How's vacationing with your Ex?" He asked.  
  
"Shan didn't put you up this, did she?" She laughed. "I'm fine. It's not been much of a vacation. I went to a really cool bar that you'd like."  
  
"You've been cheating on me, girl?" Dylan joked.  
  
"Ha-Ha. It WAS a pretty cool place, but nothing can top the Belles of Hell. You know that."  
  
Dylan admitted, "Shan was wondering what you've been up to."  
  
"Don't ask. Some good, some bad, some ugly. It's been a hectic twenty four hours."  
  
"Are you okay?" He sounded concerned.  
  
"I'm a big girl, Dylan. Even if I weren't okay, I certainly haven't a right to complain about it. That's what therapy is for." Kitty said sarcastically.  
  
"Still... if you ever want to talk--" He started.  
  
"I have your number. And I only live a few apartments down from you. Thanks. I should go, though. Tell everyone hi for me."  
  
"When you gonna be back?"  
  
"Few days, tops. Hopefully before the end of the week, but no guarantees."  
  
"Gotcha. Goodbye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Kitty relooked at her watch, growing concerned. 'Maybe I can go back into Virgin Records and pick up a cd.' She turned to move from her crossed-legged position.  
  
"Wait." Said a voice.  
  
Kitty turned her head, she saw where the voice came from. "Oh, it's you." She identified the boy from yesterday. "I hope you're not going to try to pick another fight."  
  
"No." The boy said, "My name is Devin."  
  
"So what do I owe the pleasure?" Kitty looked him over. He couldn't be more than thirteen or fourteen.  
  
"I'm not just a telekinetic." Devin smirked confidently.   
  
Kitty looked at him with a bit of a 'yeah right' kind of expression. "Nice try."  
  
"Okay, I followed you."  
  
"Good work, detective. Now what do you want with me?"  
  
"Are you going to Los Angeles?" He asked.  
  
"Maybe. I don't know if we are able to or not." Kitty shrugged her shoulders. "It's not really my business."  
  
"Aren't you a cop?"  
  
"Surprisingly, no." She paused, then asked, "Did you have a reason for stalking me?"  
  
The boy didn't reply right away. "Mn... no... just..." He looked down at his hands. "You gotta help."  
  
"What was that?" Kitty blinked.  
  
"You just have to. They're not killers." Devin pleaded.  
  
Kitty looked at him, "But people have died. You can't deny that, right?"  
  
"I don't know about that." He quickly avoided the look, "I just KNOW they're not killers."  
  
"Look, kid... I don't know what you guys are involved in. The fact is that I'm not the judge, jury, and executioner in one. I'm just an investigator. A tracker, if you will. I'll level with you, I'm not even supposed to be here." Kitty a bit annoyed at that.  
  
"Oh?" The kid seemed mildly interested. "Where are you supposed to be?"  
  
"Home. Potentially in danger."  
  
"Everywhere you go you're in danger."  
  
"Says the boy who tried to kill me."  
  
"Just slow you down. I would have never try to kill anyone."  
  
"How reassuring." Kitty turned around on the seated area, standing up.  
  
"Where are you going?" Devin asked.  
  
"Shopping. My partner has my number, he can call when he decides to show up." Kitty checked her phone, then started to walk toward Virgin Records.  
  
Devin scrambled from his seat. "Wait, hold on. I'm serious!" He caught up. "You have to go to L.A. You have to clear their name." He grabbed her arm, "Please."  
  
Kitty looked at him, then moved away from his grip. "Why? Give me a reason. And just because we're all 'gifted', it doesn't mean a damn thing when the law is involved - if that's what you were going to say."  
  
"Oi, wot's this all about?" Pete stepped up to the two. "You look familiar."  
  
"He should." Kitty commented, then looked at the kid. "Well?"  
  
"You know why." Devin looked at Pete, "I'm gonna go." He rushed off.  
  
Pete raised an eyebrow, "Weird."  
  
"Are you done?" Kitty wondered.  
  
"Good and done. Now why was that kid here?"  
  
"I think he's under some sort of misconception that I'm a cop. So what's the sitch with the case?"  
  
Pete nodded, "Glad you asked. 'Ere, let's get back to the car." He pointed to the hallway beside the Virgin Records. They walked down it, "We got clearance. We can head to Los Angeles tonight."  
  
"That simple, huh?" Kitty wondered.  
  
Pete pulled out a cigarette as soon as they stepped out the exit doors. "Not exactly. We can track, but once we get a lead we've got to give it to the local authorities."  
  
"If it's in their hands, why are we still involved?" Kitty wondered as they crossed the street to the parking garage. "I don't see L.A. as being much of a Spring Break vacation spot."  
  
"So you'd rather this be a vacation, now?"  
  
"I don't see the overall point of staying involved. Do you?" Kitty wondered.  
  
Pete started up the stairs. "What about that kid?"  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"What did he say t'ya?"  
  
"He told me that the girls aren't murderers." Kitty replied.  
  
"Sounds like you've got an obligation then." Pete smiled. "And sorry, luv. I did give my word we'd give it a go."  
  
Kitty sighed, "Fine, then. When do we leave?"  
  
"Tonight."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	13. Chapter 13

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 13  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
They drove in silence. Kitty sighed, looking out at the traffic along Las Vegas Boulevard as they headed back to their hotel room.  
  
"Wot now?" Pete wondered. The silence was grating, and the sigh was audiable enough to pick up.  
  
"Obligation, my ass." Kitty commented.  
  
"You don't feel you've got an obligation, now?" He asked. "Why not?"  
  
"It's not like we have any better clues, or any more or less information than what the authorities have? I don't see why we still have to be involved, Pete. That's all."  
  
"What did I always say?" He questioned.  
  
"In what regard?" She wondered.  
  
"'Bout anything. 'Bout cases. 'Bout any bleedin' circumstance I find myself in?"  
  
"... Because it needs doing, right." Kitty sighed. She knew he had her in a corner on that one.  
  
"Damn right, it does. An' that kid, he came t'you askin' for help."  
  
"You know, that's one of the very first things I ever learned about you. Through your intelligence friends and all, before we got together. I never understood why a sour old git like yourself could possibly be the kind of man that earned the respect and loyalty of those men at all with what you had shown me up until that point." Kitty reminiced.  
  
"Now don't go mincing words, tell me how you really feel." Pete grumbled. "I could tell ya exactly what I thought o'yer little mutant outfit too..."  
  
"I'm NOT finished, Pete." Kitty cut him off. "I didn't understand at all, and it bugged me. It made me think that there was something under it all, something that I just wasn't getting. Maybe it was all those defenses you put up, maybe it was the fact that Excalibur HADN'T demanded any kind of loyalty or even a need to play nice with each other by that point. We were just an easy out for you with Black Air."  
  
"More o'less." Pete agreed with that.  
  
"Then I learned. I saw what you brought, whether it be in battle or as a friend. You never let people down. You'd do everything within your own power to accomplish that task, from start to finish. 'Because it needed doing.'"  
  
"So it wasn't just me charm you fell for."  
  
"More or less." Kitty shrugged. "You follow through, because it's your job. Or you take it into your hands and it becomes your job."  
  
"So that lends us the question... what about you, Pryde?"  
  
"You told me that I have an obligation to it, but dammit, Wisdom. The signs on this case give me the creeps. It reminds me of very unsettling things. I may be able to answer all the questions and follow the trail to the end, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it with a clear conscious. I'm afraid of not only letting down that kid, but that we may find ourselves in some serious shit we might not be prepared to handle."  
  
Pete laughed, "You're now pulling my leg. We, as in you and me, right? Not being able to handle something? Codswolup." He parked the car, climbing out.  
  
"Laugh it all up, Wisdom. You saw my findings, you know how I felt when we first arrived and started our investigation. The further we dig I get the feeling we'd be better off with a magician instead of us on this mutant hunting goose chase." Kitty clinbed out and started walking toward the hotel room. "Screw intuition though, right? Who's to say that you bringing me out here was exactly what it wanted you to do?"  
  
"Not bloody likely." Pete opened the hotel room door and finished packing away what was left of the equipment.  
  
Kitty stepped over to the bed and laid down on it. "You seem so sure."  
  
"I am sure. This ain't Chicago, luv." Pete set the last of it next to the door, then sat next to Kitty on the bed. "I know you're scared--"  
  
"Whoa, WHOA. Hold on, there." She sat up and almost glared at Pete, "I am not scared. Fear is not what's hanging over my head on this one."  
  
"Sure sounds like it. We're investigators. Got it? We track, then let someone else do the dirty work. I won't let it go further than that."  
  
"Ever play 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego'?"  
  
"Wot?"  
  
"Computer game. You travel around the world to try and capture this criminal who steals odd things--" Kitty started.  
  
"Wot does it got to do with this?" Pete interrupted. "I know 'bout it."  
  
"Well, I remember I'd get pretty anxious, jumping from place to place easily with one clue... then suddenly I'd find the perpetrator. Without a warrent. I was so caught up in trying to save time, in trying to do what I did best - I forgot to take that step. What if we stumble upon these kids before we have a chance to call somebody about them? Like we're supposed to."  
  
"You overthink things too much, Pryde."  
  
"You're just figuring this out NOW?"  
  
"It's one of the things I've always liked about you." Pete smirked. "We've handled worse. You trust me?"  
  
"Sure, Pete."  
  
"Then we don't got a problem." Pete stood up and picked up the bag. "Are y'packed?"  
  
Kitty looked over to her dufflebag. "Did this afternoon." She headed over to her bag and shouldered the strap. She followed Pete out and looked over to the Las Vegas Strip, "Goodbye, Vegas. I hardly knew you."  
  
"This city is wasted on someone like you." Pete commented, packing the last bags into the trunk.  
  
"Nuh-uh. For what little I saw of it... seemed fine." Kitty sat back down in the passenger seat.  
  
Pete closed the trunk. "Right. I've got to check us out."  
  
Kitty waved a hand, "Take your time." She watched him walk away and then remembered, 'Oh yeah, I should call Kurt back.' She reached into her jacket and pulled out her phone. Kitty looked down at the display, scrolling through the phone list before pressing a button to call.  
  
"Xavier's School for Higher Learning." said a male voice.  
  
"Yes. Hello. Is Kurt Wagner around?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Who might this be?"  
  
"Tell him it's Kitty."  
  
"I thought I recognized that voice." The tone on the other end softened. "It's Scott. Jean mentioned she saw you recently. How're you doing?"  
  
"Oh Scott, hey..." Kitty readjusted her sitting position as she went through her personal bag, pulling out a few items, "Mainly just school... and a lot of other stuff that may or may not have any relavent meaning to you."  
  
"How's that treating you?"  
  
"I can't complain. Not too loudly, at least. Reality has a funny way of showing it cares, though. My grades aren't ass, if that's what you're asking." She laughed.  
  
"I wouldn't think they could be. I remember your transcripts. What about the people?"  
  
"Depends on who you ask. My classmates? We're great. My job? Wonderful. The narrow minded bigots or the US government? Pretty lousy."  
  
"US Government?" He sounded puzzled. "What does that mean?"  
  
"A story for another time. I've had some issues, as one might say." Kitty sighed, "Y'know, I love you to pieces Scott, but is Kurt anywhere around? I told him I'd call him back. I've something I REALLY need to talk to him about, and it's something only he'll 'get'."  
  
Scott paused, then said, "Oh wait. I remember Alex mentioning something involving Kurt. He's not on my squad, so it's hard to keep track of everyone. I think they're offsite."  
  
"Great. Okay. Perhaps another time, I suppose. It's not important."  
  
"You sure? I could get him up on the communicator.."  
  
"That's sweet of you Scott, but I'm really fine. Gotta run." Kitty reassured. "It was nice talking to you, though. Give Charley my love, or something. And a big hug for Jean."  
  
"No problem. Have a good night." The phone conversation ended.  
  
Kitty put her phone away and started hooking up a small electronic device to the stereo.  
  
"Wot's that?" Pete asked as he returned.  
  
"Our music for the ride." She smiled. "Several hundred hours of music. I love today's technology, with a few tweaks."  
  
"I got the first leg of the drive, then we'll switch off halfway. Try'n rest, okay?"  
  
"Roger." Kitty confirmed as Pete started up the engine and pulled out of the hotel, heading toward the I-15 South entrance and out of the vegas valley.  
  
---  
  
Kitty blinked the exaustion away from her eyes as she straightened her posture. Desert all around still. "....where are we?" she murmured.  
  
"We just passed some place called 'Zzyzx Road'." Pete replied.  
  
"... and where the hell is that?" Kitty yawned, obviously quite tired. The jet lag was still kicking her butt.  
  
Pete reached over with his right hand, touching her shoulder. "We just passed a city. Somethin' with a B. Bun boy - I don't know. Don't worry, lay back n' go to sleep. I'll wake you when I stop to fuel up - we'll switch out then."  
  
She touched his hand and gave it a squeeze, "I guess." She lowered herself back into a more sleep-like position in the small compact sports-seat of the Miata. She closed her eyes and then spoke up again, "Hey Pete."  
  
"Yah, Pryde?"  
  
"Mmn, oh.. nevermind."  
  
"Wot is it?" Pete wondered, "Somethin' wrong?"  
  
Kitty pulled her jacket tighter to herself and said softly, "No, just... this is really nice. I don't know. I don't want to jinx it, but it's... comforting." She yawned again, "I missed doin' this kinda stuff. Responsibility is all different. Not worryin' about--"  
  
Pete interrupted, "I don't get what you're meanin'."  
  
"Of course you do. Y'know, working together as partners again, not thinking about everything back at home too much -- wonder how things are going at home. Shan's pretty worried bout things... well maybe just me--"  
  
"You're ramblin' and your accent's gettin' worse than mine t'understand. Sleep, Pryde."  
  
"I don't have an accent."  
  
"That's a bloody lie and you know it. You yanks get on our case 'bout the cockney and the Liverpoolers and the bleedin' Londoners, but don't take notice t'yer own funny way o'talkin'." Pete commented.  
  
"You are not trying to start an argument about dialects with me, are you?" Kitty sounded almost frustrated. "I did spend a few years in England, I could always try and talk like YOU, you sodding ol' git."  
  
"S'not what I said. Never you mind that. Shut up and get some rest, you're makin' me head hurt." Pete nudged her playfully before placing his hand back on the wheel.  
  
"I'll get you back later. Mark my words." She stuck her tongue out at him before settling back in to sleep.  
  
"Wouldn't have it any other way, luv. Now sleep!"  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	14. Chapter 14

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Authors notes: Sorry about the delay on this chapter. Went to Comic-Con had a visitor for a few weeks major computer problems = No fic writing for quite some time. I apologize.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Pete climbed out of the car and started to pump the gas. He looked around. The streets were rather bare at this early hour of the morning. He finished up and replaced the nozzle, reaching over and nudging Kitty to wake up as he stepped over to the food-mart portion of the station.  
  
Kitty stirred, pushing her hair back as she looked around at the new surroundings. "Pete?" She asked, then realized he wasn't anywhere near. She yawned, getting out of the car and stretching. 'Probably went on a bathroom break.' She went over to the food-mart and stepped in, looking at the drink fridge. 'Oh right. I get the next stretch. Guess I better buy something to wake myself up.' She fetched a cold coffee drink from the fridge and also an energy drink. She paid for them and stepped out of the store to catch a glimpse of Pete over by the bathroom doors having a bit of a smoke break. "Yo." She acknowledged, walking over there.  
  
"Yo? Goodmorning yourself, sunshine." Pete took a drag on his cigarette. "Have a good rest?"  
  
"Hope so, or you're in for a big surprise. By the by, where are we?" Kitty opened the energy drink, taking a sip.  
  
"The sign said 'Barstow'. I'd say we got about an hour and a half or so before getting there. Think you can do it?" Pete wondered.  
  
"I'll manage. Hour and a half, that's not hard at all." Kitty finished the drink. "How're you holding up?"  
  
"Can't complain. A little cramped up from the trip." Pete rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.  
  
"Not exactly the most comfortable car for travel, I'll admit." She smirked, "Want me to work out those kinks?"  
  
"Tease." Pete put out the cigarette.  
  
"Gonna try to sleep while I drive?" She didn't even bother acknowledging she changed the subject.  
  
"I planned on it, you didn't exactly keep me entertained on the way down." He started on his way back toward the car.  
  
"Hey, you didn't ask me to either. You told me to rest." Kitty followed along. "You could have told me to stay awake with you." She nudged him before throwing her empty can away in the garbage can.  
  
Pete shook his head, "You needed the rest more'n I did."  
  
"Then you really have no excuse to complain about it." Kitty held out her hand, "Keys, Wisdom."  
  
"Impatient, I see." He tossed them to her.  
  
Kitty caught them with no problem. She opened the drivers side door and sat down and sticking the key into the ignition. "Impatient doesn't even begin to describe my mood."  
  
Pete raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?" He took his seat and buckled his safety belt.  
  
"Mmm? Nevermind, nothing." Kitty started the car.  
  
"It's not nothing if you bothered to bring it up..."  
  
"You already know, no use in beating the horse again. It's just on my mind, that's all." Kitty moved the car over to the exit. "Which way?"  
  
"Go left. I-15 South should be up ahead on the right. Ah, yeah. Suppose you don't want to talk about it?" Pete asked. "Just wonderin', I'm not insensitive or nothin'."  
  
Kitty followed Pete's instructions, getting the car back on the interstate. "No, Pete, you're not. Well, not anymore than you used to be." She verbally jabbed. "I'm anxious to get this over with."  
  
"I knew you couldn't take me for a whole week." Pete laughed.  
  
"Believe me when I say it's not you." Kitty admitted. "I know that might be hard to believe in reference to me... or us... but that really is the case."  
  
"Thinkin' everything'll fall apart without you, eh?"  
  
"And sometimes even if I don't think it that happens."  
  
"Come off it, Pryde. You know that ain't the case."  
  
"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Kitty wondered.  
  
"You really have to ask that?" Pete replied without a beat, "Your self created 'world' will not crash around all about you if you're not there twenty four hours a day to maintain it. You really got to take a break."  
  
"Look at you, dishing out the advice like I'm going to listen. You played into my curiouscities to get me out here, now that you have me cornered you make it seem like the life I've built for myself isn't exactly ideal. Don't you judge me."  
  
"I'm not judgin'. Just that it doesn't seem quite you."  
  
"Sure it's not." Kitty rolled her eyes.  
  
Pete shrugged and turned up the radio.  
  
"Hey!" She reached down and turned down the radio. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Fine, sounds like you want a bloody argument." Pete grumbled.  
  
"I never want an argument, but you brought it up." Kitty stated.  
  
"Now that's a lie if I've ever heard one. You and I got into it almost as much as me and my family do."  
  
"Then you'll call me a pagan free-mason or something. I bet you sound more and more like your Father each day."  
  
"Oi, take that back. That's uncalled for." Pete was not joking anymore. "Can't you just keep to the subject?"  
  
Kitty let out a sigh, "I thought that was subjective... you know, try to get under each others skin as much as possible. There wasn't really a train of thought to it all, was there Pete?"  
  
"I'll have you know there was."  
  
"Then get to it." She made a motion with her hand.  
  
Pete asked honestly, "What were you tryin' to accomplish? Quittin' the life."  
  
"God, you know this already." Kitty seemed frustrated.  
  
"No, you told me why you quit it. I'm askin' what you've done by doing it?"  
  
"Same thing you wanted." She gave a quick, almost annoyed reply.  
  
"Bzzzzt. Wrong answer. You never knew what I wanted."  
  
"Okay! Fine..." Kitty started. "Even before Piotr did that whole... self-sacrifice thing I was looking into higher education. I'm pretty smart, right? Thought I should do something with it instead of play hero and risk my life every day... sometimes for a world that doesn't even appreciate it. There I'm just what I present myself to be. Not only am I on equal ground intellectually, but I'm also finally treated as something I've strived for in all my years while fighting for Xavier's dream. I'm normal."  
  
"And you enjoy that?"  
  
"What's not to enjoy? I like using my mind to solve problems. And I think I actually might LIKE working at my job too. The privacy is certainly a benefit. No waiting in line for the shower. Waking up without the idea that I have to stop an evil alien invasion. The benefits sure seem pretty posh, don't you think?" Kitty laughed.  
  
"I remember a time when it was all about making the world a better place. Making that difference. The goodie-goodie I always knew you to be just doesn't seem right sittin' on the bench."  
  
"I'm still making a difference, Pete. Just in a less hated way. Is that so wrong?" Kitty asked.  
  
"Not at all. Just figured you to be the type t'not be able to stand by the sidelines." Pete smiled.  
  
"I'm really not." Kitty nodded, "But it's nice to have a bit of a future since 'superhero' looks odd on a resume."  
  
"Almost as grand as 'former government spy' and 'mutant activist', I'm sure."  
  
"So you get it."  
  
"Seems like a waste to me, Pryde, but I get it."  
  
"That's all I ask." Kitty handed her coffee drink over to Pete. "Open that for me."  
  
"Demanding little snit." He grinned. Pete pulled the plastic off from around the lid and opened it for her, handing it back. "There."  
  
"Thank you." Kitty took it, sipping the drink. "Mn, good."  
  
"You're welcome. Awake now?"  
  
"Yes. very much so."  
  
"Then I've done my job. I'm going to take a nap." Pete scratched his head and settled into his chair.  
  
"Ah-Hah! So that's what that was all about! Jerk."  
  
"You know I just love to hear you insult and snap at me, luv. I've seriously missed that part of our relationship."  
  
"Yeah yeah, go nap. I'm going to just drive and remind myself not to accidently toss you out while you're asleep."  
  
Pete snickered. "I see you miss it too." She smacked his arm. "Ow! Right-o, sleep it is." He settled into the seat to fall asleep.  
  
"Yeah, right. Goodnight Pete."  
  
---  
  
A sharp punch awoke a soundly sleeping Wisdom. "... What in the...!" He sat up abruptly.  
  
"Finally." Kitty sounded exasperated. They were parked in front of a Seven-Eleven convenience store. "I've been trying to get you up for ten minutes."  
  
"Wot's the... where are we?" Pete looked around.  
  
"I'm not sure. Somewhere in the Los Angeles Mega-City area. That's why I woke you. Did you want to just find a motel somewhere around here, or did you have a specific destination in mind once we hit Los Angeles?"  
  
"Again... where in the bloody hell are we?" He looked at the street signs.  
  
"Near downtown, I'm guessing. See, I can see Library tower and a few other familiar buildings in the skyline..." She pointed.  
  
Pete rubbed his sore arm and pulled out a cigarette. "Yeh, okay. Got it. Let's just head further in and find a hotel or motel of sorts. Anywhere near here is good, I suppose."  
  
Kitty sighed, rubbing her eyes, "I woke you up for that answer? Great. Maybe I should have driven to Disneyland instead."  
  
"It's too bloody late to be going to Disneyland and you know it." Pete puffed away at his cigarette. "Are you in a mood?"  
  
"No, not really. It's just late and I haven't had much sleep or eaten much today. I'd be a lot nicer after a good six to eight hours, you realize."  
  
"And maybe a pint from the pub." Pete added.  
  
"It's a bit late for that here, too. Maybe I'll let you get me drunk tomorrow. So we're going downtown? I need a direction here, Pete." She restarted the car and pulled out of the parking space, getting into the exit.  
  
"Sure, right. First place you find we'll set up camp for the night." Pete put out his cigarette and inwardly groaned. Kitty's always been harder to deal with when she's moody, despite what she said earlier.  
  
Kitty shifted from first to second gear as she changed lanes, heading down the street. "Looks like some motels up ahead on the left. That good enough?"  
  
"Perfect for what we need. Not like we got to set up in five star establishments."  
  
"I noticed." Kitty signaled and got into the turn lane to pull into one.  
  
"I've decided to let you sleep in tomorrow."  
  
"Oh really? Why is that?" Kitty wondered.  
  
"You're less've a bitch when you've had your rest. I'm gettin' old and can't keep up like I used to."  
  
"Whatever." She parked the car. "Go check us in, I'll unload the clothing bags. TWO beds, got it?"  
  
"Don't got to tell me that twice." Pete got out and went to the lobby to check into the motel for the night.  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	15. Chapter 15

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 15  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The clocks time changed over from 8:59 to 9:00am. No alarm was set, but Kitty Pryde rubbed her eyes and sat up. She glanced at the time and rolled her eyes, 'Ugh.' She thought to herself. 'I'll never be able to sleep in at this rate.' She climbed out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes, making a b-line to the bathroom.  
  
'I can't even remember what time we got in last night.' Kitty mentally wondered as she started up her shower. 'Might as well make use of the free breakfast this place provides. I doubt Wisdom will be up anytime soon.' She quickly showered up and changed, stepping out of the hotel room with a key and her thermos.  
  
The hotel lobby was sparsely filled with people walking to and from. Kitty stepped over to a small area set up with donuts, coffee, and orange juice. She grabbed a few and filled her thermos with coffee, heading back to the room absentmindedly. She took a bite of one donut, unlocking the door and stepping back into the room. She attempted to stay quiet, hoping not to wake Wisdom as she sat down the food on the table next to her laptop. She opened it up and turned it on, taking another bite as she patiently waited for the start up screen. 'Where to start...' She sighed as a reminder popped up on the computer. She placed her hands on the keys as she started to work.  
  
The clicking sounds of the keyboard lulled Pete from his slumber. He ruffled his hair as his eyes focused on Kitty across the room at the table. "It ain't even noon yet." His voice was gruff, almost angry.  
  
"Good morning to you too. There's free food in the lobby." Kitty replied without even giving him a glance.  
  
"Nine freaking thirty A.M., Pryde. Can't you sleep in, just once?"  
  
"Think of it as a mirror of the future, but it's not the future, it's the present. And we're not married, we're barely on speaking terms. Coffee?" She offered her thermos. "It's generic."  
  
"Anything's better than what MacTaggart used ta drink." Pete sat up, taking the thermos in hand. "You 'aven't been up long, have you?"  
  
"Not too long. I started working on a paper I have due when I return back to school."  
  
He poured himself a cup the commented lightly, "We are NOT barely speaking."  
  
Kitty shrugged, waving her hand, "Meh, whatever."  
  
Pete rolled his eyes, drinking down the cup. "I'll get me shower, then we move."  
  
"Where to? Should I be dressed to kill?" She continued to type away.  
  
"You're dressed fine. Hopefully my mate will gives us a starting point."  
  
"And directions." She finished her donut. "Should I load up some equipment while you make yourself daisy fresh?"  
  
"Just the camera should be fine." He paused, then nudged her arm, "Oi, Pryde. You ain't mad at me or anything, are you?"  
  
"No, why would you say that?" Kitty didn't even look at him, concentrating on the screen.  
  
"Because of what ye said."  
  
"Oh come off it. You know it's just how we communicate. Don't take things personally." She looked over at him, "You're not, are you?"  
  
"It takes a bit t'get used to. S'been a while." He shook his head and stood up. "I'm good."  
  
She nodded, unsure. "A little better now that I've had some sleep. I'll tone it down. Adjustment period, you know?"  
  
"I'll be quick." Pete picked out some clothes and headed to the bathroom for his shower.  
  
---  
  
The flash of the camera highlighted the charred ground of the scene. "So what do you think we're looking at?" Wisdom asked in a gruff voice.  
  
"Let's see... another arson case. Gosh, they really haven't changed it up all that much since Nevada, huh?" Kitty took another picture.  
  
"Does seem that way." He frowned.  
  
"This time we have a witness though. Go talk to them, I'll work on finding clues." She idly ordered.  
  
"Right-o, chief. When did you start calling the shots?"  
  
"When I was told that I had an obligation to follow through with this, Wisdom."  
  
"Ah. I'll get right on that then." He saluted politely and headed away from the scene to the small collection of police officers.  
  
Kitty took a step. She kneeled down and looked over the burn marks. She tilted her head and took another picture. "Hmmmmm..."  
  
"See something, Detective?" Asked a suited man.  
  
"I'm not much of a detective, sir." She admitted. "Ever seen anything like this before?"  
  
"Of course. We've all seen some pretty miserable stuff in our time. So what, you from the newspaper? Or are you in training?"  
  
"Neither. More like a favor for a friend. And yes, before you ask, I AM supposed to be here." Kitty snapped another picture.  
  
"Wasn't going to." He noted. "You're certainly on the right track if you were."  
  
"If I were... what, sir?" Kitty picked up a necklace, carefully placing it in a bag.  
  
"If you were training to be a detective. You've got a keen eye."  
  
"Duly noted." She stood up and had an awkward smile. "I'm going to go over there now. Nice talking to you, Detective."  
  
Pete shook the ash off the end of his cigarette as Kitty approached him.  
  
She leaned over and whispered, "Every time you leave me alone someone creepy tries to start conversations with me." Kitty nudged him, "I'm going to the car. I think I have everything."  
  
"Be there in a heartbeat." Pete nodded to her as she walked away.  
  
The detective stepped over to Pete. "Ah, friend of yours then?" He started the conversation.  
  
"Something like that. Don't start small talk with her, she's a bit skiddish." Pete put out the cigarette. "Now, if you'll excuse me, we've got a case to solve."  
  
Kitty sat in the passenger side of the car. "We've got to get these pictures checked out."  
  
"You found something new?" Pete wondered, climbing into the drivers seat.  
  
"You might say that. Did we have another place to stop by?"  
  
"I got one you might enjoy. Little Tokyo."  
  
"Oh, serious? That's terrible. Fine, let's go." Kitty waved her hand. They pulled away from the scene and hit the freeway to head toward downtown Los Angeles.  
  
---  
  
"Do you want to know what the worst thing about Los Angeles is?" Kitty asked as they pulled into the parking garage.  
  
"What's that?" Pete turned the engine off and got out of the car.  
  
"You have to pay for parking, everywhere. It's not like everything is close enough to walk to or that there's clearly labeled public transportation or anything." She walked over to a small staircase that lead to glass doors that lead into the building.  
  
"You complain too much."  
  
"We didn't have to pay for parking anywhere in Vegas."  
  
"Vegas gets it's money through other means." Pete pointed, "It's upstairs."  
  
Kitty glanced around, "Ooooo, a Mitsuwa. It's almost like I'm back home. Amidst all the unfamiliar food places and crowded highways, there's a familiar glimmer of hope."  
  
"How much time did you spend in Japan?"  
  
"Who's talking about Japan? I was talking about Chicago." Kitty gave Pete a strange look.  
  
"I figured. But I remember you talkin' about Japan. How much time d'ya spend there?"  
  
"Oh uh... actually went a few times. Learned the language. Was almost part of a traditional wedding. Possessed by a demon. Saw the sights. You know, the usual."  
  
Pete pointed to a place in the corner, "Over here. City Cat Karaoke."  
  
Kitty followed. Something to the left caught her eye. "Hey wait, Pete."  
  
"Wot?" He asked, stopping in his tracks.  
  
"Over here." Kitty left his side and walked over to the other end of the hall.  
  
"You want to go to the bloody arcade?" Pete sounded exasperated.  
  
She shook her head, "No. Just... I want to look inside. Call it a hunch."  
  
Pete scratched the back of his head and followed her over to the open arcade. "What's the hunch?"  
  
She walked around the arcade, looking carefully at the games inside. Kitty sat down on the stool in front of a drum game, shaped like a YamahaDTX.  
  
"We ain't got time t'be playing around." He said, frustrated.  
  
"Remember when you had me run around in Vegas that first day? You sent me to a place that had a lot of these games. In fact, I remember sucking at them. But that's also where I ran into the brother of our suspect. He didn't speak English. Sound familiar?" Kitty took the drumsticks from the side of the game and tapped lightly on the snare drum pad.  
  
"Yeah, so what can that mean, Pryde?" Pete wondered.  
  
"It means there's a tiny pattern. They trashed the karaoke place next door, but this arcade is nearby. Specific kinds of games, at that." She continued to tap, then replied. "I think the sister was drafted at that arcade in Vegas. Then when they came to L.A., they probably stopped here for some R n' R but something went wrong."  
  
"What about the last place? Or the other three crimescenes that got nothing to do with this?"  
  
"I didn't say I understood why those other places were hit, I'm just saying that we're not going to find anything here that I don't already know. Pete, you've got to have a little faith in me. However... maybe they just so happen to have camera surveillance of the last day or so and we then can get pictures of what these kids look like? This place wasn't harmed."  
  
"Oooh. I see where you're goin' with that." Pete nodded. "I'll talk to the owner."  
  
"And I'll hit the karaoke place to take pictures of the room to confirm my theory."  
  
"Smart girl. Meet you back here in fifteen minutes." Pete headed over to the window where one would get change.  
  
Kitty put the drumsticks back and smiled. Things were falling into place. She headed over to the karaoke place to take pictures of the charred rental room. The owners were more than happy to help. 'This is strange.' She thought to herself as she snapped a few pictures. 'It's such a contained fire and yet extremely destructive. I wonder how it'll look when I put it through the filters. Hm... hello...' Kitty bent over and picked up a partially burnt folded piece of paper. She unwrapped it to find a logo. She folded it back up and stepped into the hallway, heading toward the front counter. "Excuse me. Do you clean the rooms after every rental?"  
  
"Yes we do." The worker replied.  
  
"Okay, thanks. I'm done here. Have a good night." Kitty bowed just slightly and then headed back to the arcade.  
  
"That didn't take too long."  
  
"Nope. Say Pete... what are your feelings on curry?"  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	16. Chapter 16

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 16  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
They sat at a table inside of a small restraunt. The decor borrowed heavily on a light brown and white style. Kitty sipped from her cup.  
  
"When you said curry, I thought you meant Indian food." Pete looked over the menu. "Who in the bloody hell serves curry with spagetti?"  
  
"Curry House, apparently. Or the Japanese, take your pick. Look, you don't even have to eat. I'm the one who's hungry. Those kids were here earlier."  
  
"You sure about this?"  
  
"Have I been wrong yet?"  
  
"I'm not about to doubt the great Katherine Pryde, but I'm at a loss 'bout what you expect me to do with this prized information."  
  
"I don't know, Wisdom. You're the detective. I'm just here for the curry." Kitty rolled her eyes then placed her order.  
  
Pete did the same. He grumbled, "You're right. There is something wrong with California. You can't bloody smoke anywhere."  
  
"I knew you'd see things my way." She shook her head, pulling out the plastic bag she had from the crimescene and passing it to Pete. "I found that at the first place."  
  
"Some necklace?"  
  
"Yeah. Think it was a victims, or do you think it might be one of our group? I'm just pulling stuff out of nowhere now." Kitty yawned. "This just isn't any fun unless someone's trying to kill us."  
  
"You'd rather someone be tryin' to off us? You're somethin' else sometimes."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm bored." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Hanging out with you aside, this is getting stale."  
  
"People are dead."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"An' people are dying. We ain't got much time left."  
  
"That's exactly what I mean. It's like we're following a neatly planted trail of breadcrumbs, but we're not actually catching up to the person dropping them. It's just frustrating. Sorry." Kitty leaned back as the food arrived.  
  
Pete picked up a fork, "You're damned impatient is what you are."  
  
"Let's just go back to the hotel room. If I'm not being shot at or putting my brain to work I'm dead weight."  
  
"So you're only dead weight ten percent o' the time. Least you're not just dead."  
  
"Ha-ha." Kitty worked her on food. "So first order of business is to get back to the hotel and anaylize our pictures and clues."  
  
"Fine. You're the boss."  
  
"No. YOU'RE the boss, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this."  
  
Pete shrugged, "Yeah, alright."  
  
They finished their meals, promptly paying the clerk and stepping out. Without a beat, Pete pulled out a cigarette and lit it.  
  
"I think it's called an addiction." Kitty walked toward the parking garage and took the elevator down.  
  
"I think you think too much." Pete followed, then walked over to a staircase. "You think you might get something from..." He looked over to notice a few teens approach them.  
  
Kitty stopped and looked back at Pete, "Something from what, Wisdom?" She then saw the group, turning to face them. "Oh, this? Does not look good." She whispered under her breath.  
  
"What was your first clue?" Pete moved to stand next to Kitty.  
  
"Well, I wanted excitement." Kitty smirked.  
  
"I'm never letting you leave the room ever again."  
  
"Ooh, is that a threat or a promise? I count five." She raised her voice, "So what's this about?"  
  
There were five of them. All male, teenage to early twenties. "Look at you, goin' out to dinner with your Dad?" said what appeared to be the lead man. Dark hair and eyes with a casual outfit.  
  
"How old do you think I am?" Kitty raised an eyebrow. "When they start mistaking you for my Father, you know it's time to stop smoking."  
  
"Not funny." Pete grumbled, "We'll just be off to our car, now."  
  
"I don't think so, 'Daddy'." A second guy blocked the entrance on the stairs.  
  
"We don't want a confrontation." Kitty started, taking a defensive pose. "We just want to go home."  
  
"That's just not true and you know it. You WANT a confrontation." A third man said in a low voice.  
  
"I certainly don't." Pete grumbled. "Not from a bunch o'kids."  
  
Kitty nudged Pete, "Shut up."  
  
"You shut up." He glared back at her.  
  
"Why don't you both shut up?" The leader stated.  
  
"Pryde. Now." Pete spoke assertively.  
  
Kitty didn't miss a beat. She sprung into action, taking down the two non-speaking guys. Pete turned and decked the third guy who was instigating the fight. Kitty switched feet, looking at the leader. "How about you tell us what's going on?" She grabbed his shirt.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAH! Bloody!" Pete yelled, stumbling back. "Me jacket!"  
  
"Pete?!" Kitty turned around to look.  
  
The fire was almost a bright blue. Pete struggled out of his large overcoat, wincing. He whipped around, shooting a hot knife at the attacker.  
  
There was a fraction of a second where the distraction happened. The guy who acted as the leader put his hands toward Kitty's middle. An electronic based shock burned through her shirt and across her skin. She shrieked, pulling back and waving a hand through his center. The leader let her go and fell to his knees, proceeding to throw up. Kitty grabbed Pete's hand, "Time to go." She pulled him while phasing, keeping him untouchable. "Get to the car. I'll grab one of these jokers." Pete let go of Kitty's hand and ran to the car.  
  
"Freeze!" Kitty pulled the badge from her jacket, "I'm taking one of you jerks in!" The others scrambled and ran from scene. She quickly tucked it back in a pocket and bolted forward, grabbing what was left over of Pete's jacket and kneeling next to one of the unconscious boys. She grunted. He wasn't that heavy, but the fresh wound along her sides didn't help things much. The car pulled around. Kitty pulled a pair of handcuffs from Pete's jacket, handcuffing the guy and tossing him into the car. "Go... get him to your friend. I'll hide out in the book store."  
  
"You sure?! You gonna be all right?" Pete wondered.  
  
"Yes! Go! I have my phone. We don't know what power this kid has. I don't want you to find out unexpectedly." Kitty gestured.  
  
"Right, fine. I'll be back in ten."  
  
"I count on it." Kitty headed over to the elevator as Pete pulled away with his suspect.  
  
----  
  
Pete stood in the hotel room in front of the large bathroom mirror. He carefully unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off from the caked blood from his wound.  
  
"Damn Pete, that looks worse up close." Kitty entered the bathroom, opening up a med kit.  
  
"You don't look any better." Pete noted.  
  
"I take care of you first, then I can take care of me. We've all lived through our battle scars. Go sit down on the bed." Kitty wet a washcloth and followed him out. "I hope they get some good information from that kid."  
  
"Kid? He had to be your age." Pete sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Exactly." Kitty kneeled down beside the bed and started to clean the blood off of Pete's stomach. "That wasn't normal fire."  
  
Pete winced. "I'm not burned. It's like I'm cut."  
  
"I'm the one who got burned."  
  
"Who's fault is that?"  
  
"Obviously mine." Kitty pulled out the anticeptic and started to clean the wounds. "They healed pretty quickly. Does this hurt?" She pressed into one of the larger marks.  
  
"... YES." Pete grabbed her wrist. "You want to injure me too?!"  
  
"If I wanted to injure you, I'd actually do it." Kitty gave a mean smile.  
  
"Are you done yet!?" Pete grumbled, letting her go.  
  
"Done enough." She gathered the medkit together.  
  
Pete stood up and then gestured. "Your turn."  
  
"My... what? Oh no. I can take care of myself." Kitty picked up the kit and headed toward the bathroom.  
  
"Now that just ain't fair."  
  
"What's not fair?" She asked.  
  
"You got to grope all over me." Pete joked.  
  
"Oh. My. God. Pete! I can't believe you just said that." Kitty stepped into the bathroom, door still open.  
  
He caught up and stepped in behind her. "Look, okay. Take off your shirt. Nothing I ain't seen before."  
  
Kitty gave him a look, then sighed. She lifted herself up to sit on the counter, carefully slipping her shirt off. She had a pained expression on her face.  
  
"You got hit worse'n I did." Pete looked up into her eyes, "You're bleedin' all over."  
  
"Shut up. I'm fine." She reached over to the sink, running some water on a new cloth. She looked down and started to wipe away the blood.  
  
"Fine? You got a funny definition o'that." Pete put his hand over Kitty's. "Let me help with that."  
  
Kitty rolled her eyes, letting go of the cloth to let him help. "Fine. I can still walk, talk, capture suspects with the best of them."  
  
Pete poured some anticeptic on a clean pad, now touching up the wounds. "You enjoy the pain? That's something I never knew about you." He managed an evil smile of his own.  
  
"You're sick in the head." She snapped back.  
  
"Scoot closer." Pete put his hands on her hips, bringing her closer to him on the edge of the counter.  
  
She let out a subtile 'eep' noise, putting a hand on his shoulder to balance herself. "...hey..."  
  
"Hey what?" He touched the clensing pad along her lower back.  
  
"... I..." Kitty let out a sigh. "I hope we don't have to go anywhere else today."  
  
"No. We don't." Pete finished. He looked down at her wounds. "They look worse than they actually are. You okay?"  
  
"I told you I was." She touched the back of his hair. "What about you?"  
  
"Better." He let out a sharp breath. Pete lifted his head to match her eye level. "You're blushing."  
  
"You're in my space." Kitty said, but made no effort to move back.  
  
"I am?" He lifted a hand to touch her chin, bringing her closer to him.  
  
"Yeah... Pete... I..." She whispered.  
  
"Shhh." He kissed her softly as Kitty wrapped her arms around him.  
  
------  
  
To be continued... 


	17. Chapter 17

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.  
  
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)  
  
Chapter 17  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Shhh." Pete kissed Kitty softly as she wrapped her arms around him.  
  
Kitty started to return the kiss, then she pulled away. "Mmn... wait... wait."  
  
"Wot?" Pete wondered.  
  
"Pete --" Kitty voiced, almost urgently. "Let me down. I suddenly don't feel well. Help--"  
  
Pete's eyes widened as Kitty fell limply against him. He shook her, "Pryde? Pryde? Wake up, now! This ain't funny! Kitty? Bloody hell!" He slipped his arms under her and carried her out to her bed. He laid her down and checked her tempurature. Her skin was hot to the touch. He scrambled to his feet and wet down another cloth with cold water, then went back to her and placed it over her forehead. "Bloody figures." He pulled a bedsheet over her and brought a chair to the side of the bed, overly concerned.  
  
---  
  
The blurred vision of the hotel room ceiling slowly drifted into focus. Kitty reached to touch the slightly moist cloth on her forehead, pulling it off as she sat up. "...what in the..."  
  
"You're awake. I was about to call a Doctor. You've been out for two hours." Pete looked relieved. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine." She looked down at the rag, then turned to sit on the edge of the bed to face Pete. "What happened?"  
  
"Ye just passed out." Pete reached over and took Kitty's hands, "Are you really sure?"  
  
Kitty looked down at his hands that held hers, "Uh... yeah. I'm sure. Calm down, Wisdom. I feel fine."  
  
"You 'ad a fever. Now it's gone. Don't make much sense to me." Pete sounded confused.  
  
"You were worried? That's so sweet." She said in a tone that could be taken as condescending.  
  
"Y'just don't get it." Pete got up. He ran his hand through his hair. "That was unusual. One o'those punks poisoned you, made you sick."  
  
"And now I'm fine. What's the big deal? Do you want me to go see a Doctor? Sheesh, man." Kitty shook her head then watched as Pete turned. "Wait a second."  
  
Pete looked at Kitty. He wore a button up shirt, but it was completely loose. He hadn't bothered to button up the front. "Wot, goin' t'make another joke at my expense?"  
  
She quickly got to her feet and moved Pete to sit down on his bed. "No. Sit down." Kitty sat next to him and quickly pulled his shirt back to take off.  
  
He was stunned by her sudden, forceful nature. "Wot... hey! Pryde! I'm all for being a little rough, but I also believe in foreplay--"  
  
"Can you keep your mind out of the gutter for just ONE minute?" Kitty hissed, finally getting the shirt off. "You've been tagged."  
  
"Tagged?! I'd felt it if I were shot." Pete seemed annoyed, but didn't exactly move away.  
  
"No." She touched a mark on his back. "When that guy attacked you. He left a mark. Something tribal looking." Kitty frowned. "This can't be good."  
  
Pete grumbled. "What's it look like?"  
  
"I told you. Tribal. Looks familiar, though. Let me grab the camera. Don't move." She moved from the bed over to the camera bag, opening up and pulling off the lense cap. "You don't have any tattoos on your back, do you?"  
  
"No." He replied back shortly.  
  
Kitty aimed the camera and took a picture. She frowned then said. "Wait. It's by where you got burned. You don't suppose..."  
  
"Preposterous. You'd have something too."  
  
"I phased when he hit me. Instinct, you know. You don't exactly have that same luxury - intangibility and all." Kitty composed her thoughts. "And I was knocked out for a while there. Probably had an adverse affect to it not taking."  
  
Pete frowned. "Great. Just abso-bloody-lutely wonderful. I'm cursed."  
  
"I don't think so. We don't even know what the symbol means yet." Kitty ruffled Pete's hair and put the camera on the table. "I wouldn't be too worried. Yet."  
  
"Yet. Great final words for me there, Pryde." Pete grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on. "No wonder this place has a mutant problem. They got kids attacking tourists all the bloody time."  
  
"Ha-hah. Actually, I'm quite sure they knew who we were - it wasn't a random attack."  
  
"Really? What was your first clue?" Pete bit sarcastically.  
  
Kitty took a teeshirt from her dufflebag and carefully pulled it on, heading over to the computer. "I see your disposition doesn't change much between being healthy or potentially in trouble."  
  
"Let's be realistic, Pryde. I'm ALWAYS potentially in trouble." He pulled up a chair near her.  
  
"I can't disagree with that." She set up the camera to upload the photos. "This'll just take a minute." Kitty glanced over and saw the worry on his face. She leaned over and touched his hand, "Hey. It's okay."  
  
"Y'don't need to comfort me, Pryde."  
  
"I don't need to. I want to. You've been doing a lot of that for me, thought I'd return the favor for you." Kitty reached up and touched Pete's cheek, "Look, Pete. I'll be honest. This is way out of my scope. I just really hope it's not permanent."  
  
Pete frowned. "T'think the entire reason for this adventure was to make sure you don't end up in a body bag, and now I'm the one who's marked for death."  
  
"Don't be such a drama queen. I think I can take care of this." Kitty tilted her head. "I think."  
  
"And you're so reassuring, too."  
  
"What do you want me to do? Nothing?" She sounded frustrated. "Wisdom, stop being such an ass. That's a command."  
  
"I'm taking orders from you now?" Pete didn't seem to believe that.  
  
"As a matter of fact? Yes."  
  
He scoffed. "'Right then. Do your research, I'm going to lay down."  
  
"Let me know if there's a change in how you feel. It's very important--"  
  
"Right, right." He waved a hand and went to his bed, laying down.  
  
"Anti-ass. I told you." She reached over and smacked him playfully before returning to the desk chair and analyzing the evidence and photos they brought back from the crimescene that day.  
  
---  
  
Kitty looked over the pictures. A lot of the same signatures as they had in Vegas. More mystical and less mutant, but still just as destructive. 'What I wouldn't give for someone like Amanda Sefton to look this stuff over.' Her phone ringed, muffled through the pocket on her jacket. She reached over and pulled it out, looking at the return number. Xavier's. She answered with a quiet voice, "Pryde here."  
  
"Katzchen. I heard you called for me?" Said a deeply German sounding male voice.  
  
"Kurt... hey. Let me get some privacy. Hold on." She murmured, standing up from her chair. She sat the phone down and pulled on her padded leather jacket, grabbing the phone and stepping outside the hotel room to an outside balcony. Kitty closed the door behind her and spoke up. "What's up, Kurt?"  
  
"I don't know, you called me?"  
  
"Yeah, like a day or so ago." Long pause. "You're really not going to believe this."  
  
"I'm all ears. I would believe anything after the last few days that I have had."  
  
"Actually, knowing the profession, you probably will believe it." Kitty sat down on the floor of the balcony, leaning back against the wall and speaking softly. "Pete Wisdom came to me in Chicago."  
  
"Herr Wisdom? I thought he was..."  
  
"No kidding. So did I. I don't think he's too keen on letting the rest of the world know, so between you and me? He still is."  
  
"I can keep that secret. What did he want?"  
  
"It started off as a mediocre 'Oh, we make a great team, Pryde. Why don't you help me out on this case me mate gave me?' sort of deal." Kitty did her best British accent impression. "Then he told me... well, he told me that the case was a cover up. A ruse to get me out of Chicago. Guess he thought I was in danger. He mentioned something about Destiny's diaries."  
  
"But Rogue and her team, they prevented what was happening within them."  
  
"I know. And I totally explained that much to him. One thing lead to another and, well, we're still on this case."  
  
"One thing lead to another? Katzchen..."  
  
"Don't worry, Kurt. I'm being a good girl, for the most part. We currently have an agreement. Never thought I'd see the day I actually missed his sorry ass, but being around him these last few days. Well, he kinda grows on you."  
  
"How can I forget? Was that not your original argument for Wisdom joining the team?" Kurt laughed. "I'm not there to pick up the pieces of his broken heart."  
  
"Don't remind me." Kitty shook her head, "No, we're cool. Actually, I think you might be able to help me out a little here. Were your ears burning? I was thinking about you and your former flame, Amanda Sefton. This case has occult and magic crap written all over it. We were ambushed in Little Tokyo by a group of teens. They tagged us both, but my power negated it. Wisdom, not so lucky. He's got this odd mark on his back where the guy touched. It's strange, tribal looking. Discovered that it's the same symbol that was on a necklace I found at one of the crime scenes."  
  
"What did you learn about the necklace?" Kurt wondered.  
  
Kitty grumbled, "Funny thing about that. No relations to the occult at all. It's a silly symbol created by some Australian company that makes surfer related jewelry. This one is called 'Triton', it claims to mean 'Authority and Supremacy'. I passed out for two hours with a fever when the marking didn't take cause I phased, but Wisdom's been fine. He's sleeping right now, but he's not sick. I don't notice anything different." She glanced back through the glass door to view Pete's sleeping form.  
  
"Quite a puzzle." Kurt replied back. "You wouldn't suppose it is just a big prank?"  
  
"Not likely. We have a few bodies that say otherwise. It's one thing to use something from mythology, or even a book - but this is just weird. I don't think these kids know what they're doing. Using things around them to suit their needs, for what the situation calls for."  
  
Kurt hummed on the other end of the phone in thought. "And why are you doing this again?"  
  
"..." Kitty was quiet for a long moment, then said softly, "Because I have an obligation to follow through. I'm not a quitter. I've got a few people depending on me. Even moreso now than before. Believe me, if I could fly back to Chicago right now with a clear conscious? I so would."  
  
"But you aren't."  
  
"No kidding. I always was the responsible one."  
  
"That isn't a bad feature, Katzchen."  
  
"I know. So, fuzzy - you got ANY clue about what I'm talking about with this necklace - tattoo mark - thingamajig? I'm running out of ideas. The internet is only as useful as the information on it and I don't have time to hit the local wayward Jewish bartender coven."  
  
"Don't joke about things like that." Kurt commented, "And as for your mysterious symbol... sometimes objects, like runes, symbols... are used to cast a spell. Perhaps Herr Wisdom may be bound to that object now. I can only make guesses. I'll admit my studies are more geared toward the Christian faith."  
  
"Binding... huh." Kitty realized, "But why would they bind him to an object that was lost?"  
  
"I do not know. They might not know it has been lost." Kurt offered.  
  
"Oh... crap. You might be right on that one. I think we're on to something here. Wow. Thanks, Kurt. I'd been mulling over this for the last hour and half and I was running out of ideas."  
  
"You're a very smart girl, Katzchen - but you are not perfect. Is this why you wanted to talk to me the other day? This was that hasty decision?" He asked.  
  
"I -- Yes, this appears to be it. I'm not in Vegas anymore, though. We've been lead to Los Angeles. Look, I'm going to go check on Wisdom so I'll catch you later? I'll call to catch up once I get back to Chicago. Or you can visit again, like you did a while back."  
  
"I'll consider it when things settle down here. I have got a lot on my plate, too."  
  
"Yeah, definitely need to catch up later. Thanks again. I owe you one."  
  
"I'm just happy to hear you're okay, Katzchen. Goodnight."  
  
"Night, Kurt." Kitty hung up the phone and returned back inside the hotel room. She glanced over Wisdom, checking his tempurature with a hand. 'He's fine.' She told herself.  
  
Pete's hand snapped forward, grabbing Kitty around the wrist. She phased out of his grip and backwards, startled.  
  
"Watch it." She rubbed her wrist.  
  
He made a sour face. "You're too fidgety."  
  
"It's called being on my toes. I've got some information on your little mark, but we have to wait for the lab results from some evidence I picked up." Kitty sat down on the bed next to him. She pulled off her jacket and tossed it onto the empty bed.  
  
"That's a relief." Pete sat up. "Through me half asleep haze I distinctly remember we were doin' somethin' before you so rudely passed out."  
  
"Back to that one track mind thing, I see." Kitty smirked.  
  
"Can't blame a guy, just want to see if you're REALLY okay."  
  
"I am okay. More than okay."  
  
Pete reached over and switched off the light in the room. His hands slipped around Kitty, pulling her close in the darkness. "Let me be the judge o'that."  
  
---  
  
To be continued... 


	18. Chapter 18

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.

"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)

Chapter 18

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning rolled over in the Los Angeles area. It was already halfway through the week and there wasn't much time before Pete Wisdom would be on his own to finish this case. Not something he looked forward to doing.

It was always what seemed like the crack of dawn. For Kitty Pryde, it was like clockwork that her body woke her up at what felt like the same time each morning. She sat at the computer looking through crime scene photos. Her hand held the small necklace charm thoughtfully. 'Is this the key to everything, or is it just another loose end?' She thought. 

A muffled groan came from the bed beside her. "Oh, you're up." Kitty commented.

"Wot y'got against sleepin' in?" Pete rubbed his eyes, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Nothing at all. I've just got better things to do with my time." She looked over the screen. "You okay? Sleep well?"

"Of course." Pete straightened out his hair, taking the blanket off. "Be better if I got to sleep in."

"No one's stopping you." Kitty rolled her eyes. "You represent at least four of the deadly sins, you know that?"

"Shut it with your smart mouth, it's too damned early in the morn' for your lip, Pryde." Pete groaned, pulling on his pants, half-heartedly dressing himself.

"Why don't you just shut it?" Kitty bickered back.

Pete looked like he was going to say something, but didn't. The expression on his face seemed baffled as he did that. He walked over to sit in the chair next to Kitty, looking over the photos on the computer.

Kitty had her glasses on, her hair pulled back into a pony tail as she examined the visual evidence. She murmured, "It's just crazy. I don't even know what I'm looking for anymore. Have you any idea?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Dammit Pete, say something. This is getting creepy."

Pete let out a breath then replied. "Oh... OI. What the bloody 'ell was that all about!?"

Kitty turned and looked at him as though he were from another planet. "Uh... what is what about? I do sometimes value your opinion."

"That's not what I'm talkin' about. You told me to shut it and I couldn't get a bloody word out." Pete looked annoyed.

"What?" Kitty sat up in her chair. "Like what, paralyzation?" Her curiousity now piqued. "Not like you'd ever have obeyed me before."

"Something like that. You done told me and I couldn't bloody speak." Pete was confused.

Kitty looked at him, then around the desk. She suddenly realized her hand still held the necklace she found at the crime scene. "Hmm. Pete, stand up."

Pete looked surprised as he quickly stood from his sitting position. "What in the!? Pryde, you're working some voodoo magic on me and it's not funny anymore!"

She managed a laugh. "Oh, the things I could do to you."

"It's not funny! Now what is goin' on!? And at least let me sit! I'm tired enough."

"But I haven't made you bark like a dog yet."

"Pryde..."

Kitty shook her head, "Okay okay, fine. Pete, you can sit."

Pete sat down. "Answer the question."

"It's this." She lifted up the necklace, then set it on the table. "Same symbol as that thing on your back. I... apparently can control you with it." Kitty managed to laugh again. "Sorry, just imagining you barking like a dog. Anywhos, we need to remove that mark."

"How do you suppose we do that, luv? I ain't got a few thousand dollars up my sleeve to get unwanted tattoos removed or anything." Pete sounded annoyed.

"It's not a tattoo. It's a marking. Almost like ink. I don't think it can be washed off but, like, I think I might have a simpler way of removing it."

"Like?"

"With my powers." Kitty said quite matter of factly.

"I'm doomed."

She punched him lightly in the arm. "Shut up. You know I have awesome control of my powers. I'd say you couldn't be in better hands. Should I explain it or do you trust me?"

"How about yous explain it abouts while I trust you and we just get the whole thing over with as soon as possible?" Pete replied while he rubbed his arm.

Kitty nodded, "Okay. First, lay down on your stomach." She pointed with her finger to the bed, making a 'turn over and lay down' motion.

He did as he was told, grabbing a pillow to rest his head on, arms underneath it. Kitty got out of her chair and climbed onto the bed, straddling Pete on either side while sitting on top of his legs. His back still bare, showing off the odd marking in the now morning light. "So what're gonna do to me?"

"Sometimes things have a different density about them. One time I was able to phase ink written signatures off of the piece of paper they were on." Kitty took a breath. "I'm hoping that this will work the same way. Like, more like bonding like superglue than tattooed onto you, if you know what I'm getting at?"

"I'm getting second thoughts about this." Pete mused.

Kitty grumbled. "It's not like I'm going to accidently phase your stomach lining out, I'm just working with the top layer of the skin here. Have a little faith in me, okay?"

"I think I need a drink."

"I think you need to shut up and calm down. Or do you really want to see what it's like when I control your every movement?"

"Oh god, anything but that." Pete's tone bordered on sarcastic.

"You're right. I'd really worry if it were the other way around."

"What the hell does that mean?!" Pete sounded offended, trying to sit up to turn and look at her.

"Just being playful." She pushed him back down into the bed. "Stay still. This'll take concentration."

"I'm offended you'd possibly think o'me like that." Pete murmured into the pillow.

Kitty took a deep breath. "I was joking. You should know by now how much I trust you. If I didn't, I would have never... well, you know the rest of that. Now, don't move."

"Right, not movin'. Pryde, you know I jus.."

"Shhh. Talk in a minute, m'kay?" Kitty concentrated. She arched herself so she was no longer touching Pete, then triggered her mutant ability. She phased her hand partly into the space above the mark. Then she moved her hand down and touched his lower back, phasing through the mark. She pulled back then furrowed her brow, taking it slower as she phased her hand again through his lower back and transfering the mark from him to her hand. Kitty moved away from Pete, working quickly, she then transfered it onto a piece of paper. She looked at her hand that was now clean. Then back to Pete, who also was now mark free. She smiled, holding the piece of paper. "Okay Pete, you can talk now. It's done."

Pete didn't reply back, laying oddly still. This worried Kitty. She leaned over and shook his shoulder with her free hand.

"Wisdom? Hey... you okay?" She asked, her voice sounding a lot less confident than it did a minute ago.

Pete snarled in a low, animal like tone. His own mutant ability triggered instinctively as he swiped across at Kitty in a quick motion.

Kitty's eyes widened as she phased just in time, dropping the paper. She stumbled back, "What are you doing, Pete?! I was JOKING."

He didn't reply in familiar fashion, he twisted to glare at her, shooting off another round of hot knives in her direction. 

Kitty jumped out of the way, taking on a defensive stance. 'He's not kidding. This is a side of Pete I've never seen. I have to defend myself. I have to stop him. Oh god, I HAVE to stop him.' She went into action without another thought, tackling the half-naked Brit. She kneed him in the stomach, then used the momentuum to toss against the wall.

Pete was stunned, but not down for the count. His eyes flared with unknown energy as he went after his pray. He lept at her and locked her in against the wall. His hands against her shoulders so she couldn't move. For the first time in a while, Kitty realized how seriously out of practice she was and percisely how strong Pete could be.

"You don't want to do this." Kitty didn't look scared.

His response were his actions, right hand pulling back as he extended the hot knives toward her. Kitty twisted, then phased out of his grip. Pete stumbled off balance as Kitty nailed him with a kick, then a few hard punches. He swiped at her again, this time actually grazing her along her back. Kitty let out a yelp, attempting to keep herself phased and out of his grip. 'Running out of options. I can't kill him. I won't.' She looked down to see the paper on the floor. 'Ah hah!' Kitty solidified long enough to grab the paper then turn to Pete. He shot another hot blast at her as she blocked with the paper. It caught on fire and evaporated in a quick burst of flames. Pete screamed in pain and stumbled back, his mutant ability turned off as he grabbed his head and fell to the floor.

Kitty panted, trying to catch her breath as she saw him writh in pain on the hotel room floor. It only took a moment for her to mentally compose herself. "Pete? Pete? Oh god... Pete!" She kneeled down next to him. His skin was burning to the touch and the damage she had done to him looked twice as bad now that he was down for the count. 

"Pete!"

---

It had been several hours. Kitty paced back and forth in the UCLA Medical Center's hospital lobby. She wore her thick leather jacket, arms crossed as she impatiently glanced at the time. She didn't know what to do. Only seconds after the paper had burned up he was down, then he went into a seizure. She didn't know what else to do but to call for an ambulence and get him to a hospital. A familiar face approached Kitty - the detective from before. Pete's liason.

"What happened?"

"I'm not exactly sure, Detective Allen." Kitty couldn't even look him in the eye. "I was trying to help and then he... he went wild. I was defending myself. He's hurt pretty badly."

"It's okay." He reached over and touched her on the back.

Kitty visibly winced. She moved forward. "It's not okay."

"Whoa, girl. You're hurt too?" 

"I'll be fine. I heal quick." Kitty looked defensively at the guy. "It doesn't matter, Pete's the concern here. I've got enough bills to pay without having to deal with a hospital visit dinging my insurance."

The detective shook his head, then grabbed her by the arm, dragging her over to the counter.

"Hey!" Kitty protested.

"This girl needs to be looked at and I'd also like to see about checking on the patient 'Pete Wisdom'?"

"I'm not a 'girl', I'm an adult." Kitty managed to pull herself away. "And I'm fine. Perfectly fine."

He looked her in the eyes, "Show some appreciation and get help. We don't know how long he'll be down and you've got to be in top shape. You will go see a doctor and then we'll figure out what happened out there today, am I clear?"

"Oh yeah. Perfectly clear." Kitty glared. "You better be paying for this."

"Don't worry. I will." The detective waved a hand as she was escorted into an examinining area to a cot.

Kitty pulled off her jacket, tossing it onto the cot and sitting down. "This is ridiculous."

"Those are some nasty burns you have on your back." A male nurse commented as he checked her out.

"Gee, I hadn't noticed. Why don't you go ahead and tell me water is wet while we're at it?" Kitty snapped, then calmly said, "I'm sorry. It's as though I had a huge cup of liquid nasty this morning."

The nurse smiled. "It's okay. I've had those days. I'm Ryan." He said as he checked out the burned marks across her back.

"I'm Kitty." She said softly. "It'd probably be a lot easier if I took my shirt off, huh? It's really not that serious. I don't know what the detectives problem is."

"He's probably just worried. Yes, that'd help a lot - let me get you a blanket." Ryan grabbed a blanket and handed it to Kitty. 

She pulled off her shirt, her back now exposed as she pulled the blanket around her front. "Thanks. I doubt he's worried. I doubt he cares. He's just doing it because of my friend who is seriously hurt."

"Oh?" Ryan started to clean up the wounds. "What happened to your friend?"

"Hard to say. I think I may have broken something." She commented.

Ryan paused. "I'm not hurting you, am I? What's broken?"

"What? No. I meant... er, long story. My friend is hurt and being taken care of, let's just leave it at that." Kitty kept looking forward. "Let's just hope he's okay."

"Sure thing, Kitty. I can go check on him if you like after I'm done with you."

"Great. Thanks. I'd really appreciate that. Mind if I lay down here a minute?"

"Go right ahead. Don't worry, you're in good hands." Ryan remarked.

"Then that's all I need." Kitty let out a sharp breath, carefully positioning herself to lay down on her stomach on the hospital examination cot. Her eyes drooped closed as soon as her head hit the pillow.

---

To be continued... 


	19. Chapter 19

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.

"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)

Chapter 19

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the bloody hell is this?" Asked the gruff voice of Pete Wisdom as he sat down on the couch in the living room to the Muir Island estate Excalibur had taken up residence in.

"Apparently it's called 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. It's a movie." Kitty nudged Wisdom so she could sit in the corner of the couch. "I dunno, something about vampires and cheerleading. It has Luke Perry."

"That's such the determining factor of why I'd want to watch it."

"Okay, Pee Wee Herman?"

"Not helping." Pete grumped.

"Kristy Swanson in a cheerleading outfit? And hey, we get 'couple alone time' as they put it. Especially since Piotr tried to kill you and all." Kitty picked up a bowl of popcorn that was sitting on the table. "How is that working out for you?"

"Just peachy." Pete grabbed a handful of popcorn, taking a bite. "You sure he ain't gonna come down here and try to bash me brains in again?"

"I told you, that was a mistake. Will you just relax? Don't tell me you're too stodgy to enjoy campy vampire fun?" Kitty snuggled up next to Pete.

"You got strange taste in movies, Pryde."

"Does my taste in movies really matter right now?" She closed her eyes. The warmth of his body against hers in their close position. 

"Not at all."

---

Kitty sat up, rubbing her face. "Where the--" She remembered. The transitionary check-up area of the hospital she took Pete to. She felt the bandages on her back itch a little as she reached over to grab her shirt and pull it back on. Her eyes focused on the dimmly lit empty beds around the area. 'I guess I'm alone. And wiped. I'll check up on Wisdom.' She uncomfortably pulled on her jacket and was about to turn the corner, until she heard her name being spoken. She stopped and leaned against the wall, listening.

"Yeah, Katherine Pryde. She's down the hall resting up."

"What do you want us to do, take her down to the station?"

"I'm not even sure if this is in our juristiction anymore. What's the damage?"

"A few broken ribs and he hasn't woken up. The old man seems to have a soft spot for her, even got some records cleared for her."

"Like what?"

"Apparently in Chicago she's got a rep for being on the terrorist watch list. She was part of a class project that backfired, Feds didn't take any chances and were following her up until about a week ago."

"That's a shame. Young girl like that finding herself in that kind of trouble at her age."

"Don't let that fool you, she's given them a run for their money."

"That's just... something else."

She wasn't sure what she should do. Turn herself in? Then she'd be stuck until Wisdom decided to join the land of the living. Kitty knew what kind of damage she could do and what she may have done. She went back to where her makeshift resting spot was, quickly writing down a note on a small spiral pad and pulling the paper off to leave on the bed. She turned the corner and headed out the nearest exit without drawing attention to herself.

---

The Metro lightrail system coasted along the gold line. Kitty sat in her chair, watching people come on and off the train as it traveled along it's given path. She sighed. 'Why'd I run? I should have just stayed with Wisdom. What exactly am I going to accomplish now? Maybe I could get Shan to wire me a plane ticket back to Chicago, or maybe... I don't know.' Kitty ran a hand through her hair. Her phone beeped at her. She reached into her jacket, looking at the number. It's Wisdom's.

"What." Kitty answered.

"Miss Pryde, that's really not a nice way to greet anyone."

"I'm still on the case, a few scratches really can't keep me down. You know, using his phone isn't going to make me listen any harder, Detective."

"I'm on your side, remember? I don't know where you're at."

"And you're not going to. Unless you have some clues that might get this case solved any quicker. I'm like the mythological ninja, without the fancy-schmansy assassin origin, okay? Actually, I sort of do but that's besides the point. Anywhos, I heard what you and your little friend were talking about. You'd think I was some sort of murderer. He was possessed, in case you've never seen anything like that, and I need to get after the little bastards who made it that way. If I hadn't stopped him you would have had bodies. And I mean, multiples of the word BODY, including my own to deal with. So if you want to get smart with me, fine, but now you're playing by my rules. I call the shots and I'm going to do this my way, capisca?" Kitty was livid. 

"Fine." The agent on the other line sounded frustrated. "You need to call me when you have anything."

"Like I know where the hell I'm going. At least in Las Vegas we had a chance, the Los Angeles Mega-city is a gazillion times larger in span to deal with. It's not like I have any idea where these kids would be or--" Kitty stopped speaking.

"Hello?"

"I'm here. Nevermind. I'll call later. Let me know when he wakes up, 'kay. I've got a case to solve." She hung up the phone quickly.

She had an idea. But she knew nothing about the area. California was more of Jubilee's stomping grounds. Kitty got off the train at the next stop, Memorial Park Station.

---

"Ungh." Pete voiced from his hospital bed. He murmured a few choice curse words before sitting up, a shot of pain moved through his body. He took in his surroundings. "Doctor? Nurse? Where the bloody hell am I?" He reached over and pressed a button.

"Mr. Wisdom, you're up!" A man in a suit approached him.

"Or something like that. Can I help you?" Pete touched his bandaged ribs, trying to make sense of his prediciment. "Why am I here?"

"Your 'partner' put you in the hospital. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Last thing I remember was.." Pete thought about it, then it hit him. "Oh cripes. I hurt her, didn't I?"

"That's not the issue--"

"What do you mean, that's not the bleedin' issue!?" Pete growled. "Where is she?"

"She attacked you, Mr. Wisdom."

"She saved her own ass is what she done." Pete shook his head, "Are you tryin' to pin some blame on her or something? She piss off the lot of you government types?"

"We were just concerned about her involvement with this investigation."

"Concerned? Pryde is one of the reasons you people got even an ounce of your clues. Where's my liason? I don't like you much. Get the hell out o'my room, soddin' git, and fetch me my damn phone."

"You goddamn muties always protect your own." The man turned away.

"What did you just say? Come say that to me face, mate."

"I don't take kindly to threats, Mr. Wisdom."

"And I don't take kindly to hate. You want us to work with you, fine. You want us off the case? Absolutely fine. But don't you mouth off to me or try to get me or my bird in trouble. S'not like we're getting paid for this heartache."

The man glared at Pete, then turned to leave the room. Pete's liason, Detective Allen, entered the room. "Oh thank God. Are you okay?"

"Just a little banged up. I still got my sharp wit and will to smoke. Where's me phone?"

"I have it. Your girl split when Hate-y McHaterson tried to talk me into sending her to jail until you woke up to clear her. I had to call her to find out what's going on, but she hung up before I could get a bead on hery." He handed the phone to Pete. "We'll have you out of here shortly. I'll find a doctor, then we can find the Pryde girl and just get this over with. It's gone too far."

"Too far or not far enough? We ain't gonna crap out on this investigation now, are we? You've got to be joking. We're damned close."

"It's been risky though. Higher ups are having there doubts after this."

"The powers that be can bite me. You don't put Pete Wisdom on a case and give up half arsed. That ain't my style. And it ain't hers."

"So I noticed."

"Just get me out of this stinking hospital."

"Right."

---

Kitty looked around the coffee shop. She spotted a boy of about seventeen, maybe eighteen years old sitting in the corner with a laptop. 'Bingo.' she thought and walked over with a smile. "Hi, uhm, you don't know me I could really use some help right now."

"Huh?" The boy looked up. "Are you talking to me?" He seemed a bit shocked.

"I see your laptop has a wireless card. Mind if I bug you for a few minutes to check my email and find a map to somewhere? I'm horribly lost... not from around here." Kitty played innocent.

"I can tell by the way you speak."

"Hey. I don't speak funny."

"There's an accent." 

"There's NOT an accent. You have an accent. Like all those people on tv with the movies and..." She shook her head, "I'll give you ten bucks."

"Generous offer but I don't think I can help you." The boy sighed. "My computer's so messed up right now. I couldn't get online even if you offered me sex."

"Which I'm not." Kitty gave him a strange look. "Can I have a look at it? I'm kinda intuitive when it comes to this stuff. I promise not to run off with your laptop or anything. I'm Kitty." She offered her hand to shake.

"I'm Alex." He shook her hand. 

Kitty took a seat next to him. "So what exactly happened?"

"My stupid little brother decided to install some Korean online multiplayer game. Some update patch came down and totally crashed the hard drive. Blue screen of death. I'm so fed up with the damn thing."

"Calm down, sport. I've got this covered." She handed him a five. "Fetch me a hot chocolate? I got work to do."

"I'm a little hesitant."

"You shouldn't be. I was setting up servers and building mega-computers by the age of fourteen." Kitty started working on the problem.

"I thought you people only lived in the Bay Area."

"Excuse me? What 'people'?"

"You know, computer freaks."

"...I'm on vacation."

---

Pete pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket, putting one to his lips and stepping toward the compact car Detective Allen stepped up to. "Bloody Californian's and their damned no-smoking laws ought to just bite me.."

"Come on, Wisdom. Stalling isn't a very good way of hurrying up and getting things done." Detective Allen called out of the window.

"One minute and I'll be done."

"Now, Wisdom."

He grumbled, dropping the cigarette onto the pavement floor and stepping on it to put the light out. Pete climbed into the car. "Fine, where we going?"

"First back to your hotel. You need to call the Pryde girl." He handed Pete his phone and started up the car to pull out of the parking lot.

"Do we have a lead?" Pete wondered.

"Not too much. Just something... but we have to act fast."

---

"Ah-hah!" Kitty announced triumphantly.

"Ah-hah-what?" Alex asked. "What's going on?"

"I think I fixed your little problem. Silly registry errors. You'll be good as new... minus the Korean online game." Kitty leaned back, taking a sip of her hot chocolate as the computer continued with it's task.

"Wow. I really don't know how to thank you."

"I was serious, I'm like... completely lost here. I need to find a map and maybe a good arcade." Kitty frowned, "Where am I?"

"You don't know where you are?"

"I know I'm somewhere in Southern California. Los Angeles? Close to that."

"You're in downtown Pasadena." Alex laughed. "How'd you end up here?"

"I just road the light-rail-subway-thing until I decided to get off at the station near here." She shook her head. "It'd be too hard to explain. Are there any good arcades around here?"

"What kind of arcades are you looking for?"

"Something with a lot of Japanese import games. I think I'm supposed to meet up with some friends at a really good one, but I forgot the name and lost the map."

"I'll just google it." He brought up a search engine. "First hit... Arcade Infinity. Hey, that's not too far from here."

"Where's it at?"

"Rowland Heights."

"And that's...?"

"Here, I'll draw up a map and write down the address."

"Cool, thanks." Kitty glanced at the screen, finishing off her drink. "Really popular?"

"I dunno. I'm more of a console guy." Alex handed her the piece of paper. "It's not in the greatest neighborhood. Watch your back."

"I don't think I have much to worry about in that department. Thank you." She did a quick salute. "Don't let your brother touch that thing again if you know what's smart for you. I'm going to go find myself a cab. Have a good one."

Alex blinked, "Hey, wait. Where are you from anyway?"

"Oh. Chicago. I'm on spring break from college." Kitty shook her head, "Worst vacation ever."

"Good luck with that. I could have sworn you were a Sunnyvale or even maybe San Francisco."

"Not quite. Thanks again though." Kitty smiled and waved once more. "I'm off." She headed out of the coffee house down to a corner where she hailed the next taxi cab that came her way.

---

To be continued... 


	20. Chapter 20

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah. 

"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)

Chapter 20

* * *

The cab came to a full stop in front of the Life Plaza. Kitty stepped out and paid the driver and surveyed the area. 'Oh. It's upstairs.' She mentally noted, walking over and up the staircase to the place known as Arcade Infinity. Her phone beeped again. 'Now what?'

"I said I'd call when I had some damned answers." Kitty griped into the phone as she answered it.

"So much for bein' concerned." The gruff, firm voice of Pete Wisdom replied on the other end.

"Wisdom... you're up." She felt relieved. "I thought maybe.."

"You thought wrong. I'm made o'sterner stuff."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right." Kitty smiled, making it up to the second floor. She took a seat on a bench outside the loud arcade. "I'm kinda in the middle of recon. Do you have something for me?"

"Not a damn thing."

"You sound proud of that achievement." She joked back.

"We're stoppin' by the hotel. Gonna look o'er your photos and clues. You just let us know where to find you, right?" Wisdom was very genuine. "Don't go gettin' yourself into anything deeper."

"Sir, no sir!" Kitty replied quickly. "I'm going to go blend. I'll call." She quickly disconnected the call.

* * *

"Pryde? Pryde? Dammit! She hung up." Pete put his phone back in his jacket. "You makin' any sense o'that techno nonsense you starin' at?"

"Some. You really want out?" Detective Allen asked.

"I want this over with. When punk kids use their voodoo to make me attack my own, that's when it's time to cut your losses."

"What about your speech about how this needed doing?"

"That was before I tried to cut my friend in half. You'll get your people, we just ain't gonna be the ones to bring them in." Wisdom replied.

* * *

The blaring beeps and thumps of an electronica styled song echoed through the doorway of medium sized but filled to the brim with video games of the place known as Arcade Infinity. Near the doorway was a large machine with many buttons labeled Beatmania IIDX. A young guy pressing buttons in a lightning quick mannor to the beat to complete the song. Dancing games, racing simulators, more guitar and drum games as well. Kitty looked past the many faces of this late afternoon gathering. It was not crowded. She felt her best bet would be to change out a few dollars and play until she felt comfortable leaving. The encounter with zombie-Wisdom and the following non-confrontation with the local police put her on edge. She needed to relax. After all, it was supposed to be a vacation.

She moved to the back of the arcade, putting a five dollar bill into the changer and getting a nice collection of gold colored tokens in return. She pocketed the golden coins save for a few as she sat down in a racing game with all the screen text in Japanese. Her hand moved down to the coin slot before a girl put her hand on Kitty's shoulder.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?" Kitty asked.

"You're coming with me."

Kitty's eyes looked at the girl in question. Dark hair, tanned skin. She recognized the face but only because of the picture she received before. Her name is Jade Thomas. "Oh." Kitty managed, pulling her hand back from the slot and replacing the coins in her pocket.

"C'mon." Jade tugged at Kitty's arm, pulling her from the seat.

Kitty shrugged out of the teens grip. "Don't do that." She replied. "I'll follow, you lead. No need to get pissy."

"Isn't it a little late for that?" The girl asked. She lead the way out to the front of the arcade, now outside where it was quieter.

"Look lady, I'm not sure what you're getting at, I was just about to conquer the snowy hills of Akina..." Kitty started.

"Shut up." She quickly snapped. "I need your help. Just follow me, okay?"

There was something about the abilities she had learned when she had trained so many years ago. One of them was to read a person. While Kitty at first perceived this as a threat, suddenly those flags went down. It was the Thomas girls posture and tone that really sold it. This was exactly the right place to be. "Lead the way."

Down those stairs and around the corner they went. Kitty did not know anything about Southern California. Throw her into downtown New York City, Chicago, or even the outskirts of London and she felt she had a better chance at navigating things. Here it was like a whole new land. 'My own country doesn't even feel like home.' She thought ironically. The path moved from pavement to further away from that plaza, down the street, then leading down to a ravine that lead into a sewage system. She may have felt the girl meant no danger, but she was getting a I'm-lost-and-I-can't-find-my-way-back feeling of dread. She spoke up, "Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safer. You're not safe."

"I don't need to be saved." Kitty reminded. "Just stop. I'm..."

"I know you're some kind of detective or cop." Jade stopped moving, turning toward Kitty to speak. "And I know that they attacked you and that other cop, the guy."

"Which, by the way, was loads of fun. Who are they?" Kitty went into interregation mode.

"They're my friends but... it's NOT safe her." The girl urged.

"Nowhere is safe. Answer me! Are you involved in those murders? A lot of signs point to yes."

"I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"For starters, I'm not a cop. Or a detective. Or anything of that nature. I was doing this as a favor, which in perspective really seems very strange considering the circumstances. I'm good at following from point A to B. I just happened to make with the brilliant decisions here with my arcade luck." Kitty replied. "I'm not implying you did. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this so I can go home."

"Is that all this is to you?" The girl wondered.

"No." Kitty sighed, sounding a little stressed. "What do you want me to say? I'm not doing this because I'm being paid to. I just wanted to keep a promise and..." She tried to think of the words. "Do the right thing."

"So you're trying to be some kind of hero?"

"I'm no hero." Kitty met the girls gaze.

"Can you be?"

* * *

The now four passenger car moved down the highway quickly. Pete Wisdom held up a GPS device, tracking a signal. "She's finally stopped, but it ain't a business or nothing. Not on any street. Drive faster."

"I'm driving as fast as I can."

"What if I did exactly what the bloody book predicted? Put her in a situation making it a self fullfilling prophecy?" Pete wondered to himself.

"What are you babbling about over there, Wisdom?" Detective Allen asked.

"Nothing, mate. Just musing." Pete grumbled. "Pull off at this exit."

"She'll be fine."

"Says you."

"You're the one who trusted her. I thought she was a fighter?"

"She IS. We done got cornered last time. I think that's what's happening now. Pryde can always run, that's not an issue. She can hold her own, but you already told me she got hurt and that's my fault. I don't like the idea of her hurt and it bein' my fault."

"Relax. We're almost there."

* * *

"Uhm, excuse me?" Kitty tried to wrap her brain around the idea. "You want me to what now?"

"I can't keep this up anymore. First it was a game, y'know, me and my friends. Like little roleplaying here and there. Then we met this guy and he just... took it a step further. Said he'd make us all real witches and started talking about the superior race of mutantkind and how that gives him an edge. He wanted to open a portal to some place he read about in a book and he wanted us all to help him do it."

"And you went along with this because..." Kitty looked a little confused.

"Because we thought it was just part of the game. That was until the first time he killed. We got scared and kept along because we didn't want to die either."

"How many of there are you?" She started taking mental notes.

"The lot of us... there's about seven, including me. Not all of us want to be there."

"But you're afraid that you can't get out. Sounds oddly familiar to me."

"He told us that you had a strange energy about you."

"Whoa now! Why am I the sudden subject for the psychopath?" Kitty wondered.

"I don't know." Jade replied. "It was after you encountered him. He said you have this energy. A lingering effect. I don't get it, but you're in danger because of it. He wants to use you as a bridge between here and the other side."

"I have absolutely no idea what..." Kitty froze. She knew exactly what the girl meant. She was talking about Limbo. "Illyana."

A male voice came from behind, "What's an Illyana?"

* * *

Pete got out of the car. "Right, mate. You call for backup and follow the signal on the map. Be there in ten minutes."

"Are you sure about that?" Detective Allen wondered.

"I got a bad feeling. You don't ignore bad feelings. I'm going in cause I'm a sodding idiot. You make sure Pryde gets home, right?" Pete asked.

"I'll make sure you both get home safe and sound."

"Right. Then I'll see you in ten minutes, mate."

* * *

To be continued... 


	21. Chapter 21

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah. 

"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)

Chapter 21

* * *

It was dark, but she could sense the body behind her. Mentally she cursed herself, Kitty KNEW better. These things always happen, like a horror movie or a badly cliched detective novel. "Gee I feel stupid." She remarked out loud.

"You didn't answer my question." Said the male voice. He walked around to face the teenaged former X-Man. "What exactly is an Illyana?"

"My dead best friend. What's it to you?" Kitty rolled her eyes. "I'm done here." She walked past the man.

He quickly grabbed her arm. "Oh no, you just got here when the fun was starting." His fingers lost grip as the intangibility of Kitty's mutant ability kicked in.

"That's no way to ask a girl to dinner." She glared. "You want to take me back to your lair? Play super-villian? Dream on. You want to fight? Let's do it, jerk." Kitty took on a pose. Her eyes narrowed at the man who only could be a year or two older.

He let out a chuckle. "Oh, I see. A mutant cop. Do the folks at the force know your little secret?"

"Do they know how much of an ass you are? Sure. Everything is pretty much a given at this point."

"Smart mouth and scrappy. I like it. You really aren't a match for me." He said confidently.

"As if I hadn't heard that before. What, going to do some magic on me? Oh please. Show me the way oh masterful sir. No, wait, nevermind. I really don't care." Kitty looked annoyed. She thought to herself, 'Mental note? Probably NOT a good idea to piss off your advisary.'

He wasn't pleased. The man lunged at her with full force. Kitty felt the strange energy coming off him as he passed through her ghost-like body. She solidified as soon as he made it to the other side, giving him a swift kick to the back of the head. Her intention only to incompacitate, nothing more. He snapped around quickly with a punch, then another, until finally one connected as she blocked it, using his momentuum to drive him against a wall.

"This is so not a fair fight." She concluded, twisting his arm enough to make him wince.

"Maybe I should even the odds?" He asked.

"Don't bother." Kitty pulled him from the wall and tossed him aside. The man stumbled out of the way. "You're on borrowed time."

He turned to face her, annoyed again. "I'll show you borrowed time!" He put his hands up, creating a large magical field that crackled with energy.

Kitty's eyes widened. She placed her arms in front of her, bracing for some kind of impact or scrambling of her powers.

The man pointed his hands at Kitty, opening up his hands to release the building energy. He opened his mouth and a loud scream exited his vocal chords. In but a moment, the guy was out cold on the ground and the tunnel area was dark from the lack of light.

She gulped. Kitty narrowed her eyes in the direction that he fell, trying to re-adjust them to focus on what had just happened. A small flash of light sparked and a cigarette was lit. "... Wisdom." She sighed in relief. "What'd you do, track my phone?"

"Had to, luv. I couldn't find this bloody place on a map." Pete kicked the injured man on the ground for good measure.

"Cuff him. Their hideout is near here. Do we have backup or are we doing this solo?"

"Like backup would make a difference, but yes. We have a team of boys in blue trackin' us here."

"Well, that's the ringleader. They just need to round up the rest and... it looks like we're finally through." Kitty rubbed her head. "I'm going to go back to where there is a semblence of sunlight in this smog filled town and just sit down."

"I'll take it from here."

"Good, because you were anyway." Kitty stuck out here tongue and headed out of the area, just as the cops were arriving to clean up the mess.

* * *

The hotel room was mildly lit as the television station was tuned into channel eleven. Kitty laid on her stomach, remote in hand as she watched tiredly, dressed in a tank top and a pair of shorts as the news ended.

"Anythin' good on?" Pete stepped out of the bathroom, hair still wet from his shower.

"We made the news. No names, though. Thank goodness. Justice has been served, yadda yadda yah. You think we'll get a thank you card?"

"Probably not. You... feelin' okay? I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" Pete sat down on the second bed, across from her.

"Don't you worry about me, Wisdom. Nine lives and all. I think I'll manage to live another day." Kitty turned off the television and looked at Pete. "What about you?"

"Considerin' what I've lived' through and done, I'm surprised you didn't kill me on principle." He joked. "Sore, but I've still got the urge t'smoke so I ain't worried about that."

"Good. I was." She put the remote down.

"You were? Why? You know how hard it is to kill me." Wisdom smiled. "Can't keep me down, Pryde."

"Old instincts kicked in. I thought I'd never have to do that stuff again." Kitty pushed her hair back, sitting up on the bed and crossing her legs, turning to face him. "That's a lot of what I mean. Like those old ganster movies about people in 'the life' always seem to get brought back into it some way or another. All I wanted to do was do things MY way. Without the spandex. Without the fancy origins. Just as me, Katherine Anne Pryde in all her glory. People like my Dad are heroes. Cops are heroes. Firemen are heroes. People who do the big and little things that help everyone, not just a select part of the population."

"You sound like a the bloody folks who run for parliament."

"I've had a lot of time to think lately." Kitty admitted, "And that is an option. At least it'd feel like I was doing something other than hiding who I am to get things done and not putting my life on the line every time I actually do things like, oh, I don't know, SAVE THE WORLD?"

"Serious? Well... good luck with THAT." Pete chuckled. "You'll be good with whatever you do, Pryde."

"I know." Kitty did know. She looked at the time and sighed. "And on that note, time for bed."

"Right. So what's going on for tomorrow? Disneyland?" He asked, moving to lean back against the headboard of his own bed.

Kitty shrugged, moving to slide under the covers of her own bed. "I don't know. This just... it felt lackluster. Incomplete. I guess I always thought these things would always end up with a big bang. A feeling of completeness. But all I'm feeling is exausted. Did we do the right thing?"

"You bloody serious? Crazy jackasses like that runnin' around LA killin' people? It wouldn't've been long before some local group like those people, 'The Pride' I kept hearin' about from my underground sources, got ahold of them and made things far worse. No. We did everything we could. Don't go home thinkin' it could have gone smoother or better. You solved this case, luv. Not them." Pete reached over to turn out the light. He pushed the covers back and slid under them, letting out a monsterous yawn.

She turned to her side and watched him in the dark room. Kitty slipped out of her bed, moving to sit on the floor beside Pete's.

He opened his eyes, hearing the movement. "What." Pete asked in a mildly annoyed tone.

"Ten years." Kitty replied softly.

"What about it." He didn't bother turning the light on. Pete looked at her in the darkness.

"That's our age difference."

"More or less." He sighed. "Point?"

"What were you thinking?" She asked.

"Same as you." Pete scoffed. "You about to guilt me for the past?"

"No, Pete. Of course not. Just I had thought about it."

"Of course you have. I know I did. For years. But dammit it all, it was legal. We were and are still conscending adults." He defended. "Why you gotta bring this up right when I was tryin' to--"

"Shut up." Kitty leaned in, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. She pulled back with a sigh.

"Right. Shutting now." Pete half-sat up, leaning on his elbow. "What are you gettin' at then?'

"There, you see? It's so easy to fall back into things, but we're supposed to be wiser and older."

"Don't tell me things'd be different if we was to meet now. It wouldn't have worked that way. I bloody well wouldn't even be alive. And you? You woulda ran off with the tin-man o'yer dreams. Once he found you." Pete replied.

"Don't say that."

"It's only bein' said cause it's the truth."

"Don't bring Piotr into this."

"He was just as important to you as you was to me. Different levels and all, we don't need a comparison chart to know what all that means. The point is... he may have been a crazy Russian man who almost killed me, but when he came down to Muir Island that night it was because he wanted to find you and love you again." Pete cleared his throat. "If I hadn't been in the mix, you woulda been happy for the second chance."

"I don't know. We've already talked about this." Kitty seemed uncomfortable.

"Dammit, Pryde. You brought this up, we're gonna talk about it." Pete reached over and touched her cheek. "He was your first love, and there is nothing t'be ashamed in that."

"He didn't love me. He was confused and he latched on to an ideal version of me. Not really me. I..." Kitty had a lot of trouble with this, "He was one of my best friends. Him, his sister... they were the closest people to me. I mean, EVERYONE was like my family, but..."

Pete felt bad. He didn't mean to push her into an emotional breakdown. "Pryde. It's okay."

Kitty rubbed her eyes, "I know. I'm okay. Let me finish." She cleared her throat. "And I wouldn't have been happy with that. It was always a childish fantasy for him to come back to me. To admit that he was wrong and that he really did feel that love like I had once for him. Even after the years of awkwardness, the acceptance, and then the whole moving apart thing. I learned important life lessons with him - and yeah, maybe somewhere inside of me I secretly wish I could have done something to prevent his death. I live with that every day. But I don't ever wish to take back what we had in exchange for a 'what if'. You and he helped me grow as a person and into the adult that I am. I just always... I did realize how big of a gap ten years was, and I should have given you a better chance. I judged a little, and that was wrong."

"We all make mistakes." Pete was honest. "Some good, some bad, but at least we learn from them."

She looked down and nodded, "Yeah."

"C'mere." Pete tugged at her arm. Kitty looked up and nodded, climbing from off the floor next to Pete in the bed. He put an arm around her and said softly. "I done said I forgave you. Just get some sleep, huh?"

Kitty acknowledged his statement with a 'mmmn', asking softly, "S'okay I stay here?"

"I'd like that." He admitted, moving to lay down with her. "Goodnight."

"Yeah." She whispered softly. "G'night, Pete."

* * *

To be concluded. 


	22. Chapter 22

X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah. Oh my god it's been almost a year since I updated. Time to finish this thing once and for all. And for those who barely remember, this was supposed to take place between MekaniX and "God Loves, Man Kills 2". Considering all that, it's very pre-Astonishing and all that. 

"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)

* * *

Chapter 22 

She couldn't even remember what day of the week it was. Kitty zipped up her bag and glanced at the sleeping Pete Wisdom. 'This is it.' she thought, 'Time to let go.'

Kitty stepped out onto the balcony, overlooking the Los Angeles streets. There was an odd lull about the place. Life kept on going. That was the lesson she'd learned throughout it all. Her mind wandered. 'What was I thinking?' She felt embarassed by her own actions over the last few days. Sobriety kicked in, and although things were resolved in one fashion, it opened up another door she wasn't prepared to handle. A knock interrupted her train of thought.

"Mind if I join ya?" Pete stepped out.

"Free country." Kitty gestured. She quieted down again, looking out at the road.

"Sure is, ain't it?" Pete tapped at his cigarette box, allowing one to slip out as he grabbed it with his lips. "Got something in mind?"

"My plane leaves today." Kitty said matter of factly. "I really have to go back."

Pete looked stunned. He pulled the unlit cigarette from his mouth. "Oh."

"Mad at me?"

"Not at all, luv."

"Please don't call me that." Kitty looked down. "That's a weight I'm not prepared to handle."

"Fair enough. But I've got a question for ya." Pete tucked the cigarette behind his ear, "Did you have fun?"

"If by fun you mean..."

"Just answer the bleedin' question." Pete nudged her.

"In some ways, yes. Just like the old days. What's not fun about beating up your friends and getting ambushed in public places?" She shrugged her shoulders. "But I lied to you."

"Lied?" Pete wondered.

"The person that I was those years ago would not have jumped at the chance to be with Piotr. That was true. It was like... whoa, open wound." Kitty shrugged. "I met a guy a few months back. Nothing important, really... it was around the anniversary of Piotr's death. Local cop in Chicago looked like his spitting image. With all the crap we've been through over the years it just got me worked up and... emotions were there. Stuff I had thought I left behind. I guess it just means I miss my friend, a lot more than I thought I ever could have."

"You can't forget the ones you love, Pryde. Past, present, or future tense. We got a whole ball of unpredictability in this profession o'ours and can't deny the simple, human stuff along the way."

"True." Kitty nodded. She felt better, getting that out. "And it's the same here. With you. I never would have... this? Not under normal circumstances."

"That just makes me feel all warm and squishy." Pete's tone was very deadpan.

"Oh stop." Kitty closed her eyes. "We knew what this was. And now it's... well..."

"The word is 'over'." Pete sighed, rubbing his head.

"At least that part of it is." She gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm still glad it happened, but I'll probably pretend it never happened when I get home." Kitty somewhat joked.

"Probably best we both do." Pete nodded.

"So... looks like I'm going to need a ride to the airport."

"You mean I can't just stuff you in a cab and say toodle-loo?"

"Jerk."

"Seriously, Pryde. I'll take y'there." Pete seemed a little wistful. "You packed?"

"Packed and more packed." Kitty stepped back into the room. She reached down and pulled out a few discs. "Here. These are the backups of the crime photos. Didn't think I needed them anymore on my computer. I'm sure someone has got to make good use of this."

"Will pass that along." He absentmindedly tossed them over at his jacket on the other bed. "Do you think we have time to catch lunch?"

Kitty hesitated. "No, I should really check in."

Pete picked up her duffle bag. "Then we'll eat at the airport. C'mon."

She shook her head, glancing around the room one last time to make sure she didn't leave anything behind. Kitty pulled on her jacket and then shouldered her laptop bag, following Pete outside and down to the car.

Pete loaded her bags into the tiny trunk of the roadster. He climbed into the drivers side and adjusted the mirrors as Kitty joined him. "This is such a bloody somber event." He remarked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Hmmm, Pete?" Kitty asked. She watched out the window thoughtfully. "Howso?"

"Hate to say it, but I think I'll be missin' you."

"Naw. You'll do fine. This time I'm the one who's leaving."

Pete pulled onto the freeway. He started, "When you get back, I want you to be on full alert. Be careful with everythin' you're doing and wot not."

"I know, Pete. I will." She looked at him. "I'll be fine. And if I'm not? Someone's bound to have my back. I learned that the hard way."

"'Nother life lesson, eh?"

"Seems to be." Kitty then directed, "Next exit."

"Yes'm." Pete pulled the car into the right lane to exit for LAX international airport.

The silence in the car wasn't as unnerving as it could be. Kitty was exausted and knew that the vacation had to end. Her mind was elsewhere as they parked the car in the garage. Pete retrieved her bags, walking with her to the ticket counter.

"Any bags to check?" asked the agent.

"Just one." Kitty set the duffle on the scale. They tagged her bag and tossed it onto the line as she pocketed her ID and ticket.

They walked to the security checkpoint together until the sign indicated that no ticketed passengers were allowed beyond that point. She turned to look at him. "So... this is it."

"It was bound to happen." Pete chuckled.

"You forgot this." Kitty reached up, pulling the cigarette from beside Pete's ear free. She held it out to him.

"Eh. Toss it."

"Toss it?" Kitty questioned, then checked Pete's forehead. "Are you unwell?"

"Mock me, right. I just don't feel like it." Pete furrowed his brow.

"Huh. Well, if you say so." She tossed the unsmoked cigarette in the nearby trashcan. She looked at Pete and smiled.

"What? What's that look for? If you think I'm doing this for..."

"No Pete, not at all. Just a smile. That's all." She pulled him into a soft hug. Pete's arms wrapped around her to close the gap. "Goodbye, old friend."

"Emphasis on the 'old'." Pete scoffed, then said softly. "You don't be a stranger, now. An' don't forget the UK could use a good hand like you."

"Heh." Kitty pulled away. "Maybe in another life. I've still gotta do my time here. I think I really have something good."

"Good. Then keep it that way." Pete paused, then frowned. "Well... go on an' go. Don't be dawdling." He gestured exaggeratedly. "You'll miss yer flight."

Kitty shook her head, taking a few steps into the line before turning her head to look back at Pete. "I'm glad you're not dead. Good luck and be safe."

"You too."

* * *

The taxi cab pulled around the corner, stopping in front of the apartment complex Kitty had known as home for the last year and a half of her life. "Thank God." She muttered to herself as she retrieved her bags and headed upstairs. She dropped her things off at her apartment and headed back downstairs to check her mail. A light was on in Dylan's apartment. She closed her lock box and gave a gentle tap to the apartment door.

"Who is it?"

"Kitty."

"Hey!" The door opened. "What are you doing home early, girl?" Dylan gave her a hug.

Kitty looked embarassed. "I missed you guys?"

"You're a terrible liar."

"I've been told that recently." Kitty let out a sigh. "The west coast isn't my place." She said truthfully. "I really just wanted to be home. Being away I was reminded of the more important things in life."

Dylan wondered, "Such as?"

"Being true to myself. It's my life. I'll do with it as I damn well please."

"That's my girl. You wanna get a drink, talk about your trip?" he asked.

"Naw. I think I'm just going to veg out upstairs. I've probably got a billion emails to answer and that term paper is not getting done any sooner. Raincheck?"

"You bet."

Kitty made her way to the door.

"Oh, and Kitty?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome home."

--- The End ---

* * *

Notes: Thanks for the support you guys have given over the... looks at publish date and last time it was updated 2 years that this fic has been around.

It started as an idea, as I mentioned before, just a simple spring break / Pryde and Wisdom sort of story. Wanted to resolve things. Little did I know the comic world would eventually catch up and surpass these ideas. Pete's back in Excalibur, Kitty and Piotr are in Astonishing, and it's like the whole college thing was really a tiny chapter in her life. I remember Chris Claremont told me that he always had planned on MekaniX to become a full on series, but it was reduced to 6 issues. I liked the feel of MekaniX and wanted a similar mark, but times changed and things moved quickly. Plus, I'm lazy. Finally with a little nudging from dear Casakitten, I realized more than anything this chapter needed to be closed and I needed to move on. At least with this done, I won't feel guilty about moving on to another story (maybe Evo related again, who knows?). Heck, that Virgin Megastore doesn't even exist in Vegas anymore. That's how long it took to write this thing. And for that, I'm sorry.

Thanks again, everyone.


End file.
